MIDTERM Flashcards
It is an ethical theory that argues for the goodness of pleasure and the determination of right behavior based on the usefulness or consequences and of an action.
Utilitarianism
“I’m a Utilitarian, so I don’t see the rule against lying as absolute; it’s always subject to some overriding utility which may prevent its exercise.”
Peter Singer
Most famous for proposing the doctrine of Utilitarianism.
Jeremy Bentham
The Doctrine is based on the idea that pleasure and pain are the motivation for all human action
Jeremy Bentham
Believed that happiness, not pleasure, should be the standard of utility.
John Stuart Mill
Deontology comes from the _________ word “deon”.
Greek
Deontology refers to the study of ____________.
Obligation
The moral theory that evaluates actions that are done because of duty is called _____________
Deontological Ethics
The main proponent of Deontology is _____________
Immanuel Kant
_____________ only act according to impulses, based on their natural instincts.
Animals
The highest level and represents the divine and unchanging order established by God. It is the ultimate source of all laws and principles in the universe.
Eternal law
It is derived from eternal law and represents specific commands and guidance given by God to human beings. It includes religious scriptures, commandments, and teachings that shape religious morality.
Divine law
It is the moral and ethical principles derived from the rational understanding of eternal and divine law. It is accessible to human reason and conscience and serves as a guide for human behavior in harmony with the divine order.
Natural law
Represents laws created by human societies, governments, and legal systems. These laws are based on natural law principles but can vary from one society to another. They are man-made and intended to regulate specific societal issues.
Human or positive law
When a patient is terminally ill and keeping them on aggressive life support measures only prolongs suffering without providing any significant benefit, the Catholic Church may support the decision to withdraw such treatment under the principle of double effect
Termination of aggressive medical treatment
The law that requires us to act in accordance with our nature.
Natural law
He said that the moral life is the life which is lived according to reason.
Saint thomas aquinas
It is influenced by natural law, upholds the sanctity of life, procreation, and the marital act.
Catholic teaching
This principle is used to judge the moral acceptability of the human act that has two effects, one is good, and the other is evil.
Principle of double effect
If a nation must defend itself, the Church may justify actions that result in unintended civilian casualties if the primary intent is self-defense.
War and self defense
This means that during a war, certain actions may have unintended harmful consequences (such as civilian casualties), but they can be morally acceptable if the primary intent is to achieve a just and necessary goal, like ending aggression.
Just war theory
The principle of double effect allows for this, provided the primary intention is pain relief, not causing death.
Palliative care
He was derived from or is closely associated to Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics
Virtue Ethics
The true measure of well-being for _____________ is not by means of richness or fame but by the condition of having attained a happy life
Aristotle
It is an excellence in knowing the right conduct in carrying out a particular act
Practical Wisdom
For ___________: Moral goodness is already within the realm of intellectual excellence
Socrates
The 2 Foremost Utilitarian Thinkers
- Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
- John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
The principle of utility is about our subjection to these sovereign masters: pleasure and pain.
Jeremy Bentham
Pleasure can be scientifically calculated according to the 7 criteria
Bentham’s felicific calculus
How long will it last
Duration
How intense is it
Intensity
How near or remote
Propinquity
How widely it covers
Extent
How probable is it
Certainty
How free from pain is it
Purity
lead to further pleasure
Fecundity
Bentham’s godson
John stuart mill
Believed that happiness, not pleasure, should be the standard of utility
John stuart mill
Pursued as an end in its own right
Pleasure
An indirect by product of another activity
Happiness
Intellectual
Higher pleasure
Pleasure and appetite
Lower pleasure
Mill argues that we must consider the quality of the happiness, not merely the quantity.
EUDAIMONISTIC UTILITARIANISM
•For Mill,___________________, which are appropriate for animals, are degrading to us because we are by nature not easily satisfied by pleasures only for pigs.
crude bestial pleasures
Human pleasures are______________ different from animal pleasures.
qualitatively
Contrary to Bentham,_________ argues that quality is more preferable than quantity.
Mill
An excessive quantity of what is otherwise pleasurable might result in
pain
It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied;
better to be Socrates Dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.
Mill
If we are the only ones satisfied by our actions, it does not constitute a_____
moral good
is not dismissive of sacrifices that procure more happiness for others
Utilitarianism
In the golden rule of_____________________, we read the complete spirit of the ethics of utility. To do as one would be done by, and to love one’s neighbour as oneself, constitute the ideal perfection of utilitarian morality.
Jesus of Nazareth
When legal rights are not_____________________ in accordance to the greatest happiness principle, then these rights need neither be observed, nor be respected
morally justified
WHEN A LAW IS UNJUST,
IT IS ONLY RIGHT TO_________.
DISOBEY
“One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. (Letter from a Birmingham Jail)
thinks that it is commendable to endure legal punishments for acts of civil disobedience for the sake of promoting a higher moral good
Mill
form of Electronic Surveillance that monitors telephonic and telegraphic communication.
Wiretapping
In this sense, the principle of utility can theoretically obligate us to steal, kill, and the like.
We say “____________” because this merely constitutes a thought experiment and need not be actualized.
theoretically
Since what matters in the assessment of what we do is the resultant_____________. Then anything may be justified for the sake of producing the greatest happiness of the greatness number of people.
happiness
In short, Mill’s moral rights and considerations of justice are_________, but are only justified by their consequences to promote the greatest good of the greatest number
not absolute
The END (INTENTION/MOTIVE) DOES NOT Justify the MEANS (ACTION)
CATHOLIC MORALITY
The END (INTENTION/MOTIVE) JUSTIFIES the MEANS (ACTION)
UTILITARIAN MORALITY
3 ELEMENTS OF HUMAN ACTS
- Means or Action
- End/Intention or Motive 3. Circumstances
can be considered in various moral questions, thus, we might ask, ‘who’, ‘when’, ‘how much’ or ‘in what manner’.
CIRCUMSTANCE(SITUATIONS)
This principle is used in order to judge the moral acceptability of the human act that has two effects, one is good and the other is evil.
Principle of Double-Effect’.
1.The action is good in itself or at least indifferent. 2.The good effect must come first before the evil effect or a least simultaneously.
3.The good effect must be intended.
4.There must be a proportionately grave reason for the evil effect to happen
four conditions
In cases where a pregnancy occurs outside the uterus, and it poses a grave threat to the mother’s life, the principle of double effect may be invoked to justify the removal of the affected fallopian tube, even though it indirectly results in the loss of the pregnancy.
Ectopic Pregnancy:
The Vatican has applied the principle of double effect to questions of war and self-defense. If a nation must defend itself, the Church may justify actions that result in unintended civilian casualties, as long as the primary intent is self-defense
War and Self-Defense:
In the context of just war theory, the Catholic Church applies the principle of double effect. This means that during a just war, certain actions may have unintended harmful consequences (such as civilian casualties), but they can be morally acceptable if the primary intent is to achieve a just and necessary goal, like ending aggression.
Just War Theory:
In end-of-life care, when patients are in extreme pain, doctors may administer strong pain relief, even if it could hasten death as a side effect. The principle of double effect allows for this, provided the primary intention is pain relief, not causing death
Palliative Care:
When a patient is terminally ill and keeping them on aggressive life support measures only prolongs suffering without providing any significant benefit, the Catholic Church may support the decision to withdraw such treatment under the principle of double effect
Termination of Aggressive Medical Treatment:
“At its most basic, natural law theory tells us that actions are right just because they are natural, and wrong just because they are unnatural. And people are good to the extent that they fulfill their true nature, bad insofar as thy flout it.”
Russ Shafer Landau, The Fundamentals of Ethics, 72.
Things are “bad” when they are.
unnatural
Things are “good” when they fulfill their
nature
because the goals and the major values human beings seek are innate, that is, they are from the nature and are not selected freely by individual persons or communities.
Natural
Since human nature does not change, the basic goals are_________ and basic morality does not change
constant
It is considered ‘_______’ because by reasoning about the innate goals and values we can determine actions, which is oftentimes expressed in norms or laws that enables the person to achieve their goals.
law
It was __________who first developed this approach to ethics but in seeking to combine Aristotle’s thought with the Catholic Church’s teachings,_____________ built on his thought and developed a system of ethics known as Natural Law.
Aristotle
Thomas Aquinas
believed natural law was the moral code which human beings were naturally inclined towards. God reveals specific commands but these do not go against natural law but rather further and develop it.
Aquinas
This reflected Aquinas’ approach to theology generally by which natural theology (which was based on human reason) did not go against revealed theology (which was based on______________ by God).
revelation
said that the moral life is the life which is lived according to reason.
Aquinas
Based on___________ understanding acts such as homosexuality, use of contraception and masturbation are all immoral actions
Aquinas
The ideal purpose of sex is for_____________ within the confines of marriage.
reproduction
then goes on to say that there is our human nature, common with other animals, a desire that has to do with sexual intercourse and the care of one’s offspring.
Aquinas
animals periodically engage in sexual intercourse at a specific time of “___________”, and this could result an offspring. In human beings, too, that natural inclination to engage in the sexual act and to reproduce exists.
heat
influenced by natural law, upholds the sanctity of life, procreation, and the marital act.
Catholic teaching
They want people to use______________, like tracking a woman’s fertility, to plan when to have children.
natural methods
Catholic natural law places a strong emphasis on the intrinsic value and dignity of every human life. All life is considered a gift from God, and human beings are stewards of this gift
Sanctity of Life:
Aquinas, like the Catholic Church, emphasized the
intrinsic value of human life
His philosophy asserted that human life is sacred and must be__________, which aligns with the Church’s stance on contraception
protected
Natural law within the Catholic context promotes the idea that the primary purpose of sexual intercourse is procreation and strengthening the marital bond.
Procreation and the Marital Act:
Natural law theorists typically adhere to a heteronormative understanding of human relationships. They argue that, from a natural law perspective, the primary purpose of sexual relationships is procreation and the preservation of the species. Same-sex relationships, they contend, deviate from this natural purpose.
Heteronormative Understanding
Natural law theorists argue that marriage, as they understand it, is closely tied to the reproductive function. Since same-sex couples cannot naturally procreate, they see their unions as not fulfilling the core purpose of marriage within a natural law framework
Reproductive Function
Natural law theory, through its recognition of the inviolable value of human life whomever it belongs to , immediately offers an ethic of_____________
interpersonal relationships.
Coupled with this, the value that Aquinas gives to the production and care for offspring (_________________), as well as to the promotion of the truth and the peaceful and orderly social life (__________________), provide guidance on how one ought to relate with her close relations.
the second natural inclination
the third natural inclination
refers to what God wills for creation, how each participant in it is intended to return to Him. Given our limitations, we cannot grasp the fullness of the eternal law. Nevertheless, it is not completely opaque to us.
Eternal law
refers to all instances wherein human beings construct and enforce laws in there communities. Given the larger picture of Aquinas’s view, one would have a basis for assessing the validity or invalidity of a human law: whether or not it conforms to the natural law.
Human law
Insofar as a human law goes against what nature inclines us toward, it is not properly speaking a law – in the ideal sense of directing us to the common good – but instead is unjust and can be called a____________
matter of violence
The Designer’s plan
Eternal Law
A manual sent to us
Divine Law
What we observe
Natural Law
What we write down
Human Law
Eternal law is at the highest level and represents the divine and unchanging order established by God. It is the ultimate source of all laws and principles in the universe.
Eternal Law (Top Tier):
is derived from eternal law and represents specific commands and guidance given by God to human beings. It includes religious scriptures, commandments, and teachings that shape religious morality.
Divine Law (Below Eternal Law):
Natural law is the moral and ethical principles derived from the rational understanding of eternal and divine law. It is accessible to human reason and conscience and serves as a guide for human behavior in harmony with the divine order.
Natural Law (Below Divine Law):
Human or positive law represents laws created by human societies, governments, and legal systems. These laws are based on natural law principles but can vary from one society to another. They are man-made and intended to regulate specific societal issues.
Human or Positive Law (Lowest Tier):
comes from the Greek word “deon”,
DEONTOLOGY
The moral theory that evaluates actions that are done because of duty is called
DEONTOLOGY
Duty = following orders
(Adolf Eichmann)
Duty = imposing obligation on one’s own will and feelings
Kant
gives us no guidance as to what to do when duties conflict - this seems not to
have occurred to him!
• E.g. Promise-keeping is a duty, but what if I have promised to two different people to be in
two places at the same time?
Kantian ethics
He intends to develop what he calls the “_______________________.”
●It is supposedly supreme because by basing it on the faculty of reason, it becomes binding for all creatures that have that faculty.
supreme principle of morality
human beings, have the faculty called______________, which is the capacity to act according to principles that we determine for ourselves.
rational will
It consists of the mental faculty to construct ideas and thoughts that are beyond our immediate surroundings
This is the capacity for mental abstraction, which arises from the operations of the faculty of reason. Thus, we have the ability to stop and think about what we are doing.
RATIONALITY
_________are sentient organisms.
Animals
meaning an organism has the ability to perceive and navigate its external environment.
Sentience
●Thus, animals “act” with immediacy with nothing that intervenes between the_______ and the action.
●They do not and cannot deliberate on their actions. In fact, we may say that animals do not “act”. They only “react” to their________________ and internal impulses
impulse
external surroundings
According to ________Man has sensible impulses, and it is twofold
Kant
______________are usually bodily and emotional.
sensible impulses
______________and desires, such as the urge to eat, drink, sleep, or have sexual intercourse, comprise the set of the human compulsions for survival and the propagation of the species.
Bodily instincts
____________and__________ also make up what Kant considers sensible impulses.
Emotions
sentiments
It implies that we are indeed basically animals, but we cannot be reduced to mere animality.
Kant
” The human person is not only an animal, but is also rational,” we admit to two possible causes of our actions:
Human freedom resides in that distinction.
sensible impulses and the faculty of reason.
Kant claims that the property of the rational willis___________ which is the opposite of heteronomy.
autonomy
These three Greek word are instructive: autos, heteros, and nomos, which mean
“self,” “other,” and “law,” respectively.
autonomy means_________ and heteronomy means________
self-law
other law
Two types of IMPERATIVES for Kant
- CATEGORICAL
- PRACTICAL
is to act for the sake of duty only.
Categorical imperative
is acting in order to receive some kind of reward.
hypothetical imperative
Kant argues that the______________ is the only good way to act.
categorical imperative
A categorical imperative would be one which represented an action as objectively necessary in itself, without reference to any other purpose.
(Immanuel Kant)
●“Act only according to such a maxim, by which you can at once will that it becomes a universal law.”
Categorical Imperative
Kant states that we must formulate an action as a maxim,which he defines as a
“subjective principle of action”.
In this context, a maxim consist of a “_____” that we live by in our day-to-day lives, but it does not have the status of a law or a moral command that binds us to act in a certain way. Rather, maxims depict the patterns of our behavior.
rule
Thus, maxims are akin to the “_____________” (SOPs) in our lives. We act according to a variety of maxims, even if we are not aware of them. Actually, we become aware of our maxims when we talk about ourselves, when we reveal our habits and the reasons behind them.
standard operating procedures
It means that the
“______________”, which is what it means to” will that it become a universal law.”
universalizable
“Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only.”
Immanuel Kant
MAN IS NOT A MEANS TO AN END
But rather, MAN IS AN END TO________
HIMSELF
is based on the “light” of one’s own reason when maturity and rational capacity take hold of a person’s decision-making.
Deontology
________is depicted as having its own light in contrast to our long experience of “____________” in human history, in which we find dictatorship and authority figure that claim to be benevolent, but have proven to be oppressive and exploitative of those who do not have political power.
Reason
paternalism
This is then the practical value of deontology in our moral reflection: we are encouraged to have_________ to think on our own, to use our rational will against external authorities as well as internal base impulses that tend to undetermined our autonomy and self-determination.
courage
was derived from or is closely associated to Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics.
VIRTUE ETHICS
what an individual can do to produce the sort of character that instinctively does the right thing.
VIRTUE ETHICS
holds that it is not only important to do the right thing but equally one must have the right disposition, motivation, and traits for being good and doing right
virtue ethics
Virtue Ethics is a_____ theory
TELEOLOGICAL
The term in philosophy means_________…~
• Every pursuit of a person of a hopes to achieve a good.
One eats for the purpose of the good, that it gives sustenance to the body.
• A person pursues a chosen career, aiming for a good, that is, to provide a better future for her family.
aim, purpose, goal
discusses the general criteria in order for one to recognize the highest good of man
Aristotle
the highest good of a person must be________.
final
the ultimate telos of a person must be____________. Satisfaction in life is arrived at once this highest good is attained.
self-sufficient
The ultimate end of man is____________
happiness
The ultimate end of human acts is______________, happiness in the sense of living well, which all men desire; all acts are but different means chosen to arrive at it.
eudaimonia
3 ways in which we can achieve Happiness according to Aristotle
Pleasure
Fame
Contemplation a.k.a rationality or reasoning
The true measure of well-being for Aristotle is not by means of richness or fame but by the condition of having attained a_____________
happy life
If one performs one’s_________ well, then one is capable of arriving at happiness.
function
Using_________ and_________, we can achieve happiness through: The excellent way of doing things.
reason
contemplation
This means that being_________ cannot be accomplished by a single act
virtuous
____________is the activity of the human soul
Excellence
The human soul has 2 faculties
Rational
Irrational
aspect functions as giving nutrition and providing the activity of physical growth in a person It follows the natural processes involved in the physical activities and growth of a person.
Vegetative
Having the quality of desiring gratification: as, appetitive power or faculty aspect works as a desiring faculty of man.
the act of desiring in itself is an impulse that naturally runs counter to reason and most of the time refuses to go along with reason.
Appetitive
The Irrational Faculty has 2 Aspects:
Vegetative
Appetitive
The Rational Faculty has 2 Aspects:
Intellectual
The knowing function of man
The Intellectual Aspect has 2 Elements:
Philosophic wisdom
Practical wisdom
deals with attaining knowledge about the fundamental principles and truths that govern the universe (e.g., general theory on the origins of things).
It helps one understand in general the meaning of life.
Philosophic wisdom
It is an excellence in knowing the right conduct in carrying out a particular act.
In itself, having practical wisdom or the excellence in knowing what to act upon does not make someone already morally virtuous.
Practical wisdom
For______________: Moral goodness is already within the realm of intellectual excellence.
Knowing the good implies the ability to perform morally virtuous acts
Socrates
For____________: Having intellectual excellence does not necessarily mean that one already has the capacity of doing the good.
Aristotle
The Moral Aspect has 2 Elements:
Intellectual and Moral Virtues
virtues of the mind.
• Such as the ability to understand, reason and make sound judgement
may be taught, like logic and mathematics by teachers.
Intellectual Virtues
Not innate, rather they are acquired through repetition and practise, like learning a music instrument.
• It is through the practice and the doing that one becomes a type of person.
Moral Virtues
Second Definition of Virtue:
Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle repeatedly states that virtue is a mean.
Virtue as Mesotes
