philosophy final exam Flashcards
what are the 3 branches of moral philosophy?
-meta-ethics (investigates the big picture)
-normative ethic (focuses on providing a framework for deciding what is right and wrong)
- applied ethics (addresses specific, practical issues of moral importance, such as war, capital punishment, or challenges people face such as abortion, etc.,
Moral philosophy
Moral philosophy is the branch of philosophy that contemplates what is right and wrong.
Theoretical ethics
the study of the value judgments we apply to human choices and human behavior
ethics
theory or system dealing with values relating to human conduct, in the right and wrong of their actions.
Metaphysics of morality
The “above” or “beyond” the physical and historically, metaphysical issues with higher realms of existence.
-Physical realm
-non-physical realm
-rocks, plants, animals, human bodies, and works of humans.
- God, other non-physical entities, such as abstract realm objects.
Objectivism
tendency to stress on the objective or external elements of cognition. Deal with external things to the mind rather than with thoughts or feelings.
relativism
the doctrine that knowledge, truth, and morality exist in relation to culture, society, or historical context, and are not absolute.
cultural relativism
maintains human societies, and not individual people, create society.
Natural law theory
Someone in a higher position than us, like God, endorses specific moral standards for human beings.
egoism
performing or doing something in return for respect or to be liked by others.
alturism
doing something, donating to charity to help people, doing it out of kindness.
The is-ought problem
concerns whether one can derive a statement of what ought to be the case from statements about the world.
telelogical theories
actions are evaluated as moral or immoral depending on whether they help or hinder the achievement of the chosen end. example; egoism, eudaimonism, utilitarianism.
moral realism
theory that is mind-independent, moral facts, and true/false claims humans make.
moral subjectivism
based on an individual’s perspective of what is right or wrong.
virtue theory
places less emphasis on learning rules, and instead stresses the importance of developing good habits of character. (benevolence/charity)
“prima facie” duties
each one is morally binding unless a different duty emerges that overrides the first one.
moral reasoning
critical analysis of specific events to determine what is right or wrong. and what is ought to be done.
deductive reasoning
a logical approach where you progress from general ideas to specific conclusions
abductive reasoning
making probable conclusion from what you know.
the 6 fallacies
equivocation, red herring, ad hominem, tu quoque, straw man, and emotional appeal.
equivocation
using words ambiguously (more than one interpretation; having double meaning) often done with intent to deceive the perpetrator.
emotional appeals
the emotions that influence our behavior should not influence our judgment.
hominem ad
if you cannot attack the argument, attack the arguer. while an insult itself is not fallacious ( a mistaken belief, especially one based on an unsound argument.) it is made in a way calculated to undermine an opponent’s argument and to encourage an audience.
red herring
The fallacy is committed whenever irrelevant material is used to divert people away from the point being made and to proceed toward a different conclusion.
the straw man
the straw man is made incredibly easy to knock down. the straw man makes it hard for the opponent to prove you wrong. (ex we should liberalize marijuana. no. any society with unrestricted access to drugs loses its work ethic and goes for gratification.)
deductive argument premises
premise 1: all humans are mortal
premise 2: Socrates is a human
premise 3: Socrates is mortal.
utilitarianism
relies on the starting assumption that all beings share a common desire to seek pleasure and avoid plan.
Tu quoque
tu quoque means “you also”. it’s committed when a case is undermined by the claim that its proponent is himself guilty of what he talks of. It’s a change of subject from a claim made by the proponent to one made against him.
objectivist
holds that moral standards are not created by human beings or societies, but are grounded in some facts that are external to people and society.
normative culture
its not you’re belief, but moral facts themselves that differ from culture to culture.
relativist
holds that moral standards don’t apply universally to all people or social groups, their application depends on human preference.
