Midterm

Question 1

The philosophical study of morality

Answer 1

Ethics (moral philosophy)

Question 2

Beliefs concerning right and wrong, good and bad; they can include judgments, rules, principles, and theories

Answer 2

Morality

Question 3

The scientific study of moral beliefs and practices

Answer 3

Descriptive ethics

Question 4

The study of the principles, rules, or theories that guide our actions and judgments

Answer 4

Normative ethics

Question 5

The study of the meaning and logical structure of moral beliefs

Answer 5

Metaethics

Question 6

The application of moral norms to specific moral issues or cases, particularly those in a profession such as medicine or law

Answer 6

Applied ethics

Question 6

Valuable as a means to something else, such as the pen that can be used to write a letter

Answer 6

Extrinsically valuable

Question 7

Valuable in itself, for its own sake, such as happiness or beauty

Answer 7

Intrinsically valuable

Question 8

A theory asserting that the morally right action is the one that God commands

Answer 8

Divine Command Theory

Question 9

The view that an action is morally right if one’s culture approves of it

Answer 9

Cultural relativism

Question 10

The view that an action is morally right if one approves of it

Answer 10

Subjective relativism

Question 11

The view that some moral principles are valid for everyone

Answer 11

Objectivism

Question 12

The view that moral utterances are neither true nor false but are expressions of emotions or attitudes

Answer 12

Emotivism

Question 13

An error in formal logic where if the consequent is said to be true, the antecedent is said to be true, as a result

Answer 13

Affirming the consequent

Question 14

inferring the inverse from an original statement. If P, then Q. Not P. Therefore, not Q

Answer 14

Denying the antecedent

Question 15

Internally consistent, the central claims are consistent with each other, not contradictory

Answer 15

Coherence

Question 16

1. Consistency with considered judgements.
2. Consistency with our moral experiences.
3. Usefulness in moral problem solving

Answer 16

3 Moral criteria of adequacy

Question 17

The scientific view that the motive for all our actions is self-interest

Answer 17

Psychological egoism

Question 18

The theory that to determine right action, you must apply the egoistic principle to individual acts

Answer 18

Act-egoism

Question 19

The theory that to determine right action, you must see if an act falls under a rule that if consistently followed would maximize your self-interest

Answer 19

Rule-egoism

Question 20

According to John Stuart Mill, the principle that “holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness”

Answer 20

Greatest happiness principle

Question 21

Jermey Bentham’s “principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency which it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in question

Answer 21

Principle of utility

Question 22

Quantifies happiness and handles the necessary calculations. Knows how to tote up the amount of utility, or happiness, generated by various actions

Answer 22

Hedonic Calculus

Question 23

Mill’s: Higher pleasures—which are, roughly, ‘mental’ pleasures—are always preferable to lower pleasures—the pleasures of the body

Answer 23

Higher vs. Lower pleaures

Question 24

One who believes that the rightness of an action derives not from the consequences of an action but from its nature

Answer 24

Deontologist

Question 25

A command that tells us what we should do if we have certain desires

Answer 25

Hypothetical imperative

Question 26

A duty that has exceptions

Answer 26

Imperfect duties

Question 27

A duty that has no exceptions

Answer 27

Perfect duties

Question 28

The rule that we must always treat people as ends in themselves, never merely as a means

Answer 28

Means-ends principle

Question 29

There’s an end goal to an action. All human beings have a purpose in life

Answer 29

Teleological

Question 30

The principle that performing a good action may be permissible even if it has bad effects, but performing a bad action for the purpose of achieving good effects is never permissible; any bad effects must be unintended

Answer 30

Doctrine of double effect

Question 31

The doctrine that morality arises from a social contract that self-interested and rational people would abide by in order to secure a degree of peace, prosperity, and safety

Answer 31

Social Contract Theory (Contractarianism)

Question 32

Morality comes into existence only when the Leviathan takes control and guarantees the strength and stability of the social contract. Believes bad government over no government

Answer 32

Hobbe’s Theory

Question 33

An approach to ethics focused on women’s interests and experiences and devoted to supporting the moral equality of women and men

Answer 33

Feminist ethics

Question 34

A perspective on moral issues that emphasizes close personal relationships and moral virtues such as compassion, love, and sympathy

Answer 34

Ethics of care

Question 35

Greek for “happiness” or “flourishing”

Answer 35

Eudaimonia

Question 36

Aristotle’s notion of a moral virtue as a balance between two behavioral extremes, such as courage and cowardice

Answer 36

Golden mean

Question 37

A stable disposition to act and feel according to some ideal or model of excellence

Answer 37

Virtue

Question 38

The idea that a moral statement that applies in one situation must apply in all other situations that are relevantly similar

Answer 38

Principle of universalizability

Question 39

The welfare and interests of each individual should be given the same weight as all others. Decisions should be based on objective criteria and not by biases or prejudice

Answer 39

The Principle of impartiality

Question 40

When moral principles or values conflict with nonmoral principles or values, the moral considerations usually override the others

Answer 40

The dominance of moral norms

Question 41

If a moral judgment is to be worthy of acceptance, it must be supported by good reasons, and our deliberations on the issue must include a consideration of those reasons

Answer 41

The preeminence of reason