lesson 3 Flashcards
german thinker regarded by many as the most significant philosopher in the modern era
immanuel kant
immanuel kant contribution to ethics
- the foundation of the metaphysics of morals
- critique of practical reason
based on kant, ____ is what deems an action ethical or otherwise
reason
for kant, it is the ____ which is the highest good and the condition of all other goods
good will
this is the only intrinsically good. the only thing which is good without qualification
good will
refers to the feeling that pushes us to select a particular option or to make a particular decision. tendency to do, favor, or want something.
inclination
which we ought to do despite our inclination or ‘taste’ to do otherwise
duty/obligation
kants beliec that it is one’s duty to act on principle or _____, as contrasted to simply acting on impulse
maxim
____ is a general rule or principle which serves as a guide to action
maxim
maxim of conduct into 2 classes
- hypothetical
- categorical imperatives
should be understood as a command of reason
imperative
entails beings true only under some conditions, and therefore not universally true or valid
hypothetical
how a reason orders one to achieve one’s specific ends
hypothetical imperative
commands a person to act in particular ways regardless of what goal one looks for or what one’s end may be
categorical imperative
most famous categorical imperative. “act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.”
universalizability
“so act as to use humanity, both in your own person and in the person of every other, always at the same time as an end, never simply as a means.”
end-in-itself
(kant) ______ as resting on the attainment of moral character, and thus not on things like progress in scientific advances
human dignity
“government must approach the making and enforcement of laws with the right intention in respect to tho the end goal of the society it governs……”
rights theory
a broad moral theory in which kant’s principle of rights theory is included.
right-based ethics
“there are some rights, both positive and negative, that all humans have based only on the fact that they are human. these rights can be natural or conventional…”
right-based ethics
those that are moral while conventional, those created by humans reflect society’s values
right based ethics
example of right based ethics
- the right of life
- the right of liberty
- the right to pursue happiness
- the right to a jury trial
- the right to a lawyer
- the right to freely practice a religion of choice
- the right to express opinions with freedom
- the right of indiv. or organizations to express opinions freely in written medium
- the right to come together and meet I order to achieve goals
10.
philosopher, one of the main supporters of this system which takes the viewpoint of what the ideal world looks like and generates a rights system based upon those ideas
john locke
document that characterizes the types of rights that are embraced by rights-based ethical system
bill of rights
justifies the claim that individuals and groups can make upon other individuals or upon society: to have a ____ is to be in a position to determine by one;s choices, what others should do or need to do”
right
denotes all the rights found within existing legal codes
legal rights
are rights that exist prior to and independently from their legal counterparts
moral rights
