Phil Ethics 3 Flashcards
Acting from inclination vs duty
Inclination: based off self-interest, feelings, desires, etc. this is a part of our human psychology that can hinder good will.
Duty: An action has moral worth only if it is done from duty. It has no moral worth even if it is in conformity with duty but acted from inclination.
Autonomy
We should respect other person’s exercise of self-determination.
Care Ethics/Feminist Ethics
Commitments of Feminist Philosophy:
1. People should be treated equally (irrespective of differences)
2. The experiences of women are important for a full and accurate understanding of ethics
3. Traits & forms of thinking which are “historically feminine,” are at least as important to philosophy as other forms of thinking
The Care perspective vs the Justice perspective in ethical experience
Care: Values in attachment, don’t ignore others in need, focus on relationships
Justice: Values in equality, don’t treat others unfairly, focus on self
the categorical imperative (formulas of universalizability and of humanity)
a command of reason
you ought to do X
moral reason, LAW
Consequentialism
An action is right if an only if it provides the greatest net benefit for all of those involved
Critique (of ethical theories)
The evaluation of a theory to determine if it is worthy of our belief (in other
words, is it true?) Critique also assesses the potential philosophical problems of a theory. Examples are Care ethics and Dewey
Deontology (Kantian Ethics)
an action is right if and only if it fulfills one’s duty
Ethics
Ethics is the branch (or subfield) of philosophy that studies right and wrong action, good and bad consequences, and virtuous and vicious character. Ideally, ethics will provide guidance on how to make wise decisions and live a good life
General happiness
Aggregate of all human happiness. The cumulative happiness of everyone goes up if more people are happy, and if more people are suffering, it goes down. If someone wanted to pursue happiness at the expense of others’ suffering, it would lower the “general happiness” and be, therefore, undesirable. Bad things lower general happiness. Mills.
The good will
The condition of being worthy of happiness. A good intention makes a will a good will.
Higher and lower pleasures (“better a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied”)
Higher: intellectual and emotional pursuits
Lower: physical pursuits
Hypothetical imperative
a command of reason
you ought to do X if you have a goal/aim, Y
The lying promise and its failure to pass the test of the categorical imperative
a false promise, where the person making the promise doesn’t intend to fulfill it. Maxim: when in difficulty I make a promise I will not keep. Universal law: Everyone makes lying promises in difficulty, because trust would be lost if everyone was lying. You would only be successful if everyone tells the truth
Maxim of action
Personal principle and intention of the action. What you will do, and why you will do it. A principle you formulate for yourself. whatever the maxim is, is the moral value. You must know the maxim to know your duty.
“mere means” vs “end in itself”
you should never treat people solely as a means to an end, but always as ends in themselves. This means respecting their autonomy and inherent worth, rather than using them for your own purposes without their consent or consideration of their well-being
rule-consequentialism
an action is right if and only if it follows a rule that is part of a system that, if everyone follows, produces the greatest net benefit for everyone concerned
Virtue ethics
An action is right, if and only if, a virtuous person under the same circumstances would act the same way
Pragmatism
a philosophical approach that prioritizes practicality and the practical consequences of beliefs and actions over abstract theories or ideals. Dewey says philosophy is too abstract and Ethical theory ignores uncertainty and conflict in ethical
decision-making
Principle of utility, or greatest-happiness principle
We should produce the most favorable balance of benefit over harm for all
concerned
