Unit 1 Exam Flashcards
Define morals
Refers to the social customs and practices that determines good and bad, right and wrong
Define Ethics
Philosophical study of morality
Moral cognitivism
Moral truths exist and can be known
Moral realism
The view that ethical standards, morality, and positions of right or wrong are culturally based and therefore subject to a person’s individual choice. We can all decide what is right for ourselves
Subjectivism
Our moral evaluations and appraisals are based solely on our own feelings
Moral relativism
Basis morality not in the claims of the individual, but the community in which an individual lives. To say “X is wrong” means that “X violates certain community standards and practices
Moral non-cognitivism
There are no moral truths can be known
Cultural Differences Argument
It’s merely a matter of opinion that varies from culture to culture
Relativism strengths
Reflects what anthropologists find when they study other cultures, explains difference within subcultures within the US, explains the difference of opinion between individuals
Relativism weakness
Is not necessary to explain difference in cultural practices, can’t account for moral progress, morality appears to be based on rather arbitrary standards, there may be more similarity between people/cultures than we immediately recognize
Teleological
Contain virtue theory, divine command theory, and utilitarianism
Virtue Theory
Aristotle, emphasis on character traits
Natural Law Theory
Appeal to religious texts and beliefs, god provide the ultimate end/purpose Aquinas
Deontology
Emphasis on moral duties
Utilitarianism
Pleasure/pain
Golden Mean
Middle ground between excess and deficiency
Aquinas
Natural Law Theory
Aristotle
Virtue Theory