Intro- Ontology, Epistemology and Ethics Flashcards
What is Ontology
Study of what exists
Free will?
Truth?
God?
What is epistemology
Generally, the study of knowledge
Specific questions include:
What does it mean to say someone knows something?
What sorts of justification do you have to have to know something?
What kinds of knowledge are there?
What is ethics
the study of evaluation
AKA moral philosophy
right and wrong
What is good
is something morally permissible
Relationship between statement, arguments, conclusion and premise.
Statement: A sentence that is true or false.
Argument: A set of statements one of which is intended to be supported by the others.
Conclusion: the supported statement.
Premise: the supporting statement(s).
Difference between morality and ethics?
Morality: the set of moral principles or ideals and moral judgments. oughtness (what ought or ought not be)
Ethics: the study of moral principles or ideals and how they bear on practical issues (40)
What is “Ought”
Separate from “ifs” (it doesn’t mean “want”) if yo ought to do something it is out of responsibility, duty or morality. it is based on moral ideals. Not a means to an ends.
What distinguishes moral judgments from other sorts of statements?
More evaluative then descriptive.
• Ex.
I ought to take the bus today
vs
I will take the bus to work
What distinguishes moral judgments from other kinds of judgments, like epistemic judgments or ontic judgments?
Not always clear. But Doing harm to another person is a moral evaluation
I ought to give this person medication vs I ought to put salt on my tomato.
o What is the relationship between what philosophers do when they study
ethics and what moral agents do when they make moral judgments?
Moral Agents:Moral concepts are frequently assigned vague and even contradictory meanings in the everyday (25)
Philosophers: philosophical understanding of moral concepts used in moral analysis can help sort out confusions, clarify disagreements and promote creative problem solving. Put these in context of MORAL THEORIES
Is following nursing codes sufficient for ethical nursing
“even if a code of ethics is explicit, “simply doing what was mandated by a code, policy, or law is never enough to satisfy the demands of ethical accountability when the moral appropriateness of a particular action is called into question”
