philosophy Flashcards
Philosophy
The study of the
fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and
existence.
descriptive ethics
focuses on observing and describing moral beliefs and behaviors within a culture or society, rather than prescribing what is right or wrong it explains what people actually believe and how they behave
How is descriptive ethics unlike moral philosophy?
Descriptive ethics is unlike moral
philosophy in that it explains what people do but not what they should do
Metaethics
the study of the meaning and logical structure of moral beliefs. It doesn’t ask whether an action
is right or wrong, but what the very terms “right” and
“wrong” mean.
Metaphysics
study of the fundamental nature of reality and being
Normative ethics
the study of the principles, rules, or theories that guide our actions and judgments. asks what is right and wrong and provides guides
for how one should live their life morally.
applied ethics
the application
of normative ethics to specific moral issues or cases. Once
we establish rules for right and wrong, we can apply them
to real life issues like abortion, war, torture, and others.
Phenomenology
is a philosophy of
experience and asks philosophers to directly investigate and describe phenomena
with a value-free perception.
Methodic doubt
the process of being skeptical of so-called “truths” related to
reality, phenomena, and knowledge.
conceptual analysis
involves the analysis of concepts, notions, or ideas
Thought experiments
are imaginative scenarios that
allows us to test or compare concepts to
better understand their connections or
logical consequences
ex: trolley problem
Consequentialist theory
a theory asserting that what makes an action right is its
consequences
Nonconsequentialist theory
a theory asserting that the rightness of an action does not depend on its consequences
Utilitarianism
a theory asserting that the morally right action is the one
that produces the most favorable balance of good over evil, everyone
considered.
Greatest happiness principle
holds that actions are
right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to
produce the reverse of happiness
Act-utilitarianism
a utilitarian theory asserting that the morally right action
is the one that directly produces the most favorable balance of good over
evil, everyone considered
Rule-utilitarianism
a utilitarian theory asserting that the morally right
action is the one covered by a rule that, if generally followed, would produce the most favorable balance of good over evil for oneself.
What did Immanuel Kant believe?
that reason leads moral agents to know what is right instead of utility, religion, desires, or happiness
Hypothetical imperative
an imperative that tells us what
we should do if we have certain desires.
Categorical imperative
an imperative that we should
follow regardless of our particular wants and needs; also,
the principle that defines Kant’s ethical system.
Formula of universal law
Before doing something, ask yourself: What if everyone acted this way?
If the action would lead to a world that is logical and morally acceptable, then it is ethical.
If it would create contradictions, chaos, or harm, then it is wrong.
Means-ends principle
So act as to treat humanity, whether in thine own person or in that of any other, in every case as an end withal, never as means only
Virtue ethics
a theory of morality that makes virtue the central concern.
Golden Mean
Aristotle’s notion of virtue as a
balance between two behavioral extremes.
