Mid-term: Ethics Flashcards
What is ethics & its major goals?
he investigation on how we ought to live: the standards of right & wrong.
Goals: Regulate behaviour
What is the Milgram Experiment?
Experiment where individuals are told they were studying the impact of pain on learning: they push a button to administer pain. The main aspect they are seeking is whether they will continue to push the button even if they believe they are causing pain?
How does the Milgram Experiment illustrate why it’s important to study ethics?
It demonstrates how it’s important to study ethics because it shows that there’s an ability to justify and defend moral choices.
What is the difference between normative and theoretical ethics?
Normative ethics are HOW to act in a particular situation or guideline we can apply in a real life situation.
Theoretical ethics are WHY we choose to act the way we do and how we decide right/wrong.
What is the difference between relative and universal ethical theories?
Relativism: There are no such thing as independent moral values (morals vary depending on time and place and culture)
Universalist: There’re universal moral truths; rules apply to all people and exist independently for all individuals (there’s a standard behaviour)
What are the five elements of a moral argument?
1- The issue (what is discussed/question)
2- Conclusion (the answer to the question)
3- Reasons (what supports the conclusion)
4- The principles (general statement about right and wrong, guidelines)
5- The values (what matters to us)
Break down/construct the Terri Schiavo case
Husband’ side
The issue: Whether she should live/or not
Conclusion: Remove the feeding tube
The reasons: No hope of recovery, she should be allowed to die it’s what she would’ve wanted
The principles: supported by doctors and guardians
The values: Loyalty, compassion, autonomy
Parents’ side
The issue: Whether she should live/or not
Conclusion: Keep the feeding tube in
Reasons: She could wake up, she reacted to stimuli
Principles: Florida legistature, religion
Values: Compassion, non-maleficience, beneficience
What is cultural relativism?
Morality is not universal: the idea of a person’s beliefs, culture, values, and practices should be understood based on that person’s own culture rather than be judged against the criteria of another another culture. This theory argues that noculture is inherently superior or inferior to another and that cultural norms and moral values are context dependent.
Morality is acceptable if the culture says it’s acceptable.
What connects anthropology and Cultural Relativism?
Anthropology: study of culture, how do people live: It helps anthropologists study cultures objectively without imposing their own cultural biases.
What are the five main ideas of Cultural Relativism?
1- Different cultures have different moral codes
2- If a moral code of a culture says an action is right, then it is right
3- There’s no universal truth
4- Our society moral code has no special status
5- It is arrogant to judge others (principle of tolerance)
If a culture says it’s right, then it is right.
Do cultural relativist believe in universal truth?
Cultural relativists generally do not believe in universal standard of truth because they argue that truth is culturally constructed and varies from one society to another. For example, even if a culture’s action goes against universal standards, they will justify it with the fact that it is acceptable because it is part of one’s culture.
MORAL TRUTHS = CULTURALLY CONSTRUCTED
What are the major weaknesses of the theory of Cultural Relativism?
- There is no moral progress (culture blends in modern world)
- There is no room for reason
- There is faulty of reasoning
- No shared values
- Pluralist cultures
MAIN: Faulty of reasoning (Even harmful practices are considered to be o
Why is cultural relativism often disagreed with?
Not everybody is okay with this practice rationally, it’s a universal statement to say that we have basic rights and the right to equality
Rights to equality
What can we learn from the theory of Cultural Relativism?
We’re all products of culture, we should not be ethnocentric, and we should be tolerant of everyone’s culture.
Why is utilitarianism a revolutionary ethical theory?
Utilitarianism is revolutionary because it is considered to be the first ethical theory that puts humans at its centre during a period of revolution: it thinks about people. It is also where philosophers thought about what is right and wrong in ethics, which is based on an individual’s overall happiness. In other words, morality isn’t introduced by God, but people.
Why is Utilitarianism a consequentialist theory?
Because it promotes consequence is more important than intent (ends justify the means) and it focuses on what a good end is: What brings people the most happiness and reduces pain, the majority of happiness, the greater good)
Promotes consequences over intent
What is the utility principle?
It’s what acts in a way that brings the majority happiness, minimizing pain and equal consideration.
What are the key claims of Utilitarianism?
The desire of happiness is self-evident and universal
Pleasure brings about happiness pain brings about unhappiness
People are naturally sympathetic and concerned with promoting the happiness of others
The rightness and wrongness of an action is determined solety by its consquences
An action is morally right to the extent that that it promotes the happiness or pleasure of all those affected by it
An action is morally wrong to the extent that it increases unhappiness or pain
The moral community consists of all sentient beings
MAIN: pleasure brings happiness and pain brings
unhappiness
Explain how Utilitarians measure happiness: duration/intensity
There are different types of pleasure and happiness: need to consider how intense is the happiness or pain, how long does it last and how many people are affected by it.
Who do Utilitarians consider part of their moral community?
All sentient beings
What is speciesism?
How any species are as important. It is the discrimination against other species and can be compared to sexism and racism but towards animals.
What are the strengths of Utilitarianism?
Causes happiness to the majority of beings
Promotes what’s better for all beings
Glorifies equality for all individuals
Acts for the greater good
How does speciesism link to Utilitarians ideas?
It considers all sentient beings and promotes equality and happiness for all
What are the weaknesses of Utilitarianism?
It is unjust to specific cases
It ignores moral sentiment (feeling of right and wrong)
Ignores individuals’ rights and justice
Happiness is not all that matters in life
