Lecture 1: Philosophy & Ethics Flashcards
Philosophy’s 6 Main Areas
Metaphysics/Ontology Logic Epistemology Ethics Political Philosophy Aesthetics
Metaphysics/Ontology
study of the nature of being, what does it meant to exist, what is the difference between real and imaginary
Logic
the study of reasoning
Epistemology
study of the theory of knowledge, you think you know something, what does it mean to know something, how do we create knowledge
Ethics
study of right and wrong (right as a duty), creating more goodness in the world, more ethicalness and being virtuous
Political
study of what is good in society and what is the best form of government, how we should govern ourselves
Aesthetics
study of beauty and art, how to judge things
What 2 things are important about ethics?
- knowing what you think should be done in any particular situation (needed for good argument)
- knowing why you think/believe/feel that and defending your position/solution
Why is ethics not equal to the law?
- things can be illegal and people argue they are ethical and vice versa
- something could be ethically neutral but still illegal
- something can be legal but unethical; something can be illegal and ethical (not equal)
Ethics
morals, morality, what is the right thing to do
Morality
ethics
Ethical Theory
moral philosophy, about clarifying our thinking when making moral/ethical judgements (gives us rules, approaches and principles to do so)
3 Types/Levels of Ethics
Meta-Ethics, Normative Ethics, Applied Ethics
Meta-Ethics
deals with large abstract questions, is the highest level of ethics (ie. what is the best ethical framework and why?)
Normative Ethics
the 6 ethical frameworks, systematic way of thinking about what is right, only hypothetical situations
Applied Ethics
deals with real situations (but we can only really approximate what is happening)
Bad Ethical Arguments: Characteristics
- arbitrariness
- over-reliance on feelings
- partisan behaviour
- because a respected authority tells you
- self-interest
- whataboutism
- bothsideism
Arbitrariness
- having no reasons for the position you take
- tautological is a specific form where the reason given is also the conclusion
Over-reliance on feelings
feeling something is wrong is often the sign that it is wrong, but your feeling alone doesn’t prove it
Partisan behaviour
taking preferential treatment for your friends and family, biased argument (playing favourites)
Because a respected authority tells you
respected authorities can guide you, but cannot think for you (need to think for yourself)
Self-interest
- AKA moral egoism
- looking out for number one is the ethical thing to do
- easily misused when people really want something then they do whatever they can to protect themselves
- inherently selfish if not applied correctly
- this is what I believe and everyone else should agree
Whataboutism
sidestepping having to answer by shifting focus to something bad someone else did (not actually addressing the issue but looks like you are)
Bothsidesism
falsely equating both sides of an issue when clearly one side bears more/most/all responsibility
Cultural (Ethical) Relativism
- the idea that value changes from society to society
- ethics are relative to the cultural context
- there are no overarching, always right/wrong answers
Cultural Relativism: Tolerance or Anything Goes?
- guard against ethnocentrism (idea that your culture and values are the centre - right thing)
- respects diversity
- bad the idea that anything goes
Proper Moral Reasoning
- takes some time
- get all the relevant facts you can
- be able to articulate why something is right
- set ground rules for listening and discussing with others
