Vocab Test 7/3/24 Flashcards
a priori
a statement which is knowable without reference to experience
absolute
a principle that is universally binding
autonomy
self directed freedom, arriving at a moral judgement through reason
categorical imperative
a command to perform actions that are absolute moral obligations without reference to other ends
deontological ethics
any ethical system which ignores outcomes, concentrating just on whether the act is good in itself
duty
a motive for acting in a certain way which shows a moral quality
free will
the belief that we are able to make our own uncompelled choices in life
good will
a moral choice expresses good will
heteronomy
for kant, the state of being directed by others in decision-making
hypothetical imperative
an action that achieves some goal or end
immortality
the belief that we will live forever, in afterlife
kingdom of ends
a world in which people do not treat others as means but only as ends
law
objective principle - a maxim that can be universalised
maxim
a general rule which we intend to act, determined by reason
postulate
a principle so evident that it needs no further justification (an assumption)
summum bonum
the supreme good that we pursue through moral acts
universability
if an act is wrong for one person, then it is wrong for anyone in that situation
Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II)
‘anyone who treats a person as a means to an end does violence to the very essence of the other, to constitutes its natural rights’ love and responsibility (1982)
L. Pojman
Ethics: discovering right and wrong (2012) - questions some of Kants examples for universalisation
Immanuel Kant
‘it is impossible to conceive of anything in the world, or indeed out of it, which can be called good without qualification, save only a good will’ groundwork of the metaphysics of morals (1785)
