Test 1 Flashcards
What is bioethics?
Bio: biology including medicine (health care delivery and public health) and medical research
Ethics: the study of how we ought to act (what is correct)
What is descriptive ethics?
-the code of conduct that people in fact believe
-peoples beliefs about morality
-can be from individual or group of peoples beliefs
What is normative ethics?
-looks at the criteria of what is right and wrong
CORE FEATURES:
1. Moral obligations are authoritative: serious concequences of not living up to them
2. Moral obligations are objective: independant of our beliefs and institutions
3. Moral obligations are universal: do not change over time or across persons or places
what is cultural relativism?
-a society’s beliefs about morality determine its moral norms
-the culture is a moral authority because it determines what is right and wrong
1. cultural beliefs generate moral principles
2. and nothing else does
how does cultural relativism challenge normative ethics?
it is not universal or objective, morality varies depending on culture, no independant standard
what is deontic status?
something is morally right when:
a. its required, therefore obligatory OR
b. its optional, therefore permissible
something is morally wrong when:
a. the action is forbidden
what is the central thesis of cultural relativism?
an action is morally required/forbidden/permissable if and only if it is beleived to be morally required/forbidden/permissable by a given society
how do you make an agruement in ethics?
- ask if one or more premises are true
- ask if the premises support the conclusion
What are Rachels arguements against cultural relativism?
- argument against the conclusion that morality is relative to each culture and not objective:
-moral practices may rather arise from same underlying principle, but differing beliefs about non-moral facts lead to different practices (ie. difference in beliefs not values)
-some values must be universal: valuing childrens lives, honesty, and prohibtion on killing are all needed in functioning societies
-there is an assumption made about the premise for the conclusion to apply - consequences of cultural relativism:
-can’t say that other cultures customs are morally inferior to our own (some things are wrong wherever they occur)
-can decide if an action is right or wrong just by consulting societal standards (can’t critize own society, must assume code is perfect, doesnt need to improve)
-no moral progress or reform
what is reductio ad absurdum?
to prove something as wrong, assume that it is true to see if there are absurd consequences
- if R is true, then X, Y, and Z are true (if X Y Z are false, then R is false)
what are the implications of cultural relativism?
- Other cultural practices can’t be criticized:
-can’t say that other cultures customs are morally inferior to our own (some things are wrong wherever they occur like discrimination and slavery)
-should have some objective standard - We should consult existing social standards for determining right and wrong:
-can decide if an action is right or wrong just by consulting societal standards (can’t critize own society, must assume code is perfect, doesnt need to improve)
-cultural norms would approve of apartheid, dissaprove of medically assisted death for people with mental illnesses - no moral progress or reform
What is devine command theory?
-an authoritative theory to morality with the central claim that moral norms exist if and only if God commands it
-without the command there are no moral norms
-gives a source for why/how morality exists
what is the euthyphro dilemma?
-asks if action is morally right or wrong because god commands it or if God commands it because its morally right
-the 1st, god is acting without reason, its not rational (DC theorist must accept this one because God is the source but this goes against how a God should be (perfectly rational)
-the 2nd goes against how a god should be (all good, all knowing, all powerful
-challenges consistency and intuitive appeal (is arbitrary (random), sometimes against moral intuitions)
-most believers reject DC theory
what are the implications of the euthyphro dilemma?
challenges:
-will alone can create obligations
doesn’t challenge closely related ideas:
-that religious commands should be followed
-that religion is important source of moral knowledge
what are the 4 theoretical virtues?
- explanatory power: how well does it explain moral truths, the more simple the more powerful
- applicability: how well does it guide action, is it obvious
- consistency: no contradiction
- intuitive appeal: can it accommodate moral beliefs
what theoretical virtues does relativism lack?
intuitive appeal, since it implies seemingly objective moral truths are not so
what makes a theory pluralist or monist?
the amount of basic values it has
what is a basic value?
those which we cannot derive from other values
what is the difference between and absolutist and non-absolutist theory?
absolute values have no exceptions, cannot be overridden or broken
how can cultural relativism be described in a descriptive and normative way?
Descriptive: peoples beliefs about the morality of an action vary radically across cultures
Normative: culture determines whats morally correct
what is the agrument against descriptive relativism?
-cultures moral beliefs arent as different as we think, it is superficial things that make them appear different
-really it only offers that we be senstive to other cultures practices
what is the argument against normative relativism?
-there is no objective right or wrong, this goes against common sense intuition
-denies moral progress
-opposes moral reform
-unclear if it promotes moral tolerance
-norms of a culture is outdated because many societies are highly pluralistic
what reasons support the divine command theory?
- God determining morality is either necessary or sufficient for moral rightness
- nothing but God can create moral laws
- without Gods commands, moral anarchy would follow
what are the agruments against the support for the DC theory?
- some people that dont believe in god still act morally right, some believers only do right out of fear
- laws dont always require law makers
- many, non religion based theories avoid relativism
- God existence is challenged so how do we know there is moral authority
- which sacred text do we follow to know Gods will and how do we interpret it correctly
what two attributes does natural law theory have?
-absolutist
-pluralist
what is the source of morality in natural law theory?
-not authoritative: source is in the human capacity to act according to reason because:
-all things have natural tendancy to develop toward realizing own essence and a beings perfection consists in fullest development according to its kind
-by achieving natural purpose, humans reach their excellence
- this is possible because humans have a rational soul
why are actions in accordance with reason important in natural law theory?
-they promote human flourishing
-they are the right actions
what are the four basic values connected to flourishing in natural law theory?
- life
- knowledge
- procreation
- sociability
-actions that promote these are right
what are the features of the four basic values of natural law theory?
- intrinsic or ultimate: depends only on internal features, not as means to something else
- basic: cannot be deduced
- absolute: holds without exception
- indefeasible: cannot be undermined by reason or authority
- self-evident: know to be valuable just by thinking
what is the PDE?
-Principle of Double Effect: tells you what should be done when an action has a good and bad effect
-justifies violations of basic values
what are the conditions of PDE?
- the action has at least one good and one bad effect
- the bad effect is not a means to the good effect
- the bad effect is merely foreseen and not intended by the agent, who intends only the good effect
- the good effect is great enough to outweigh the bad
what are the three basic rules (that follow deontic status) of NL theory?
- action is forbidden when it directly violates a basic value
- action is morally obligated when it would violate a basic value if not performed
- action is permissible when it doesnt violate a basic value (may indirectly)
