Week 1 Flashcards
There are morally right actions and morally wrong actions, but the category of morally right actions divides into two smaller categories. What are they? Give some examples that illustrate the difference between those two smaller categories.
1) Optional = it’s also alright to not do that action
* ex. picking up litter on the sidewalk
2) Obligitory = if you don’t do that action, you are morally wrong
* ex. not reporting child abuse
What is a moral rule (I’m not looking for an example, but rather a general account of what a moral rule is)? What are moral rules supposed to help us do?
Ideally, rules of morality would outline what is obligitory, optional, and prohibited.
They are to help us identify whats moral/immoral, and then apply them to solve moral dilemmas
Describe egoism. What is a problem with egoism?
Egoism = What is right is what benefits you and you alone. Acting in your own self intrest so it’s fine
* most people would say that acting wholly selfish is wrong. What about things that benefit not just you? Would that still be good under egosim?
Describe The Golden Rule. What is a problem with The Golden Rule?
Golden Rule = treat others the way you want to be treated
* what if what you want is not what someone else wants ex. masochists kinky
What is Utilitarianism? Give examples.
Utilitarianism = act in a way that maximizes happiness for everyone
* ex you have 100$, you can either buy 1 dinner for yourself, or feed 10 homeless people. you should feed 10 because that’s maximizing the most peoples happiness
What are three problems with Utilitarianism? (3 points)
1) it says it’s ok to feed your dead dad to an alligator, as it maximizes happiness for the alligator
2) practical problem; it’s hard to see what would maximize happiness - what would maximize happiness for lots of people over a long period of time
3) you can’t quatify happiness
For Kant, what does it mean to say that something is universalizable without contradiction?
Don’t do anything unless the world in which everyone does it is still a world in which you get what you want
For Kant, what does it mean to say that you should never use another person as merely a means to an end?
Don’t use people; don’t treat people in a way that a rational and fully informed individual would object to.
What is Divine Command Theory? What’s a problem with it?
Divine Command Theory = an action is obligitory if God tells us to do it, optional if God doesn’t care either way, and wrong if God prohibits it
* what God are we supposed to follow? How do we know what God thinks? What about people who don’t belive in God?
What is Virtue Ethics?
Virtue Ethics = an action is right if and only if what a virtuous agent (acting in character) would not avoid doing in the circumstances under consideration
* ex. WWJD
For Aristotle, what does it mean to be virtuous? Give a couple of examples of virtues.
Vitruous = a means between extremes; a kind of moderation
* honesty
* courage
* justice
* temperance
* beneficence
* humility
* loyalty
* gratitude
* wit
* patience
Which of the theories that we considered most closely resembles the ‘What would Jesus do?’ rule of morality. Explain.
Divine Command Theory because we assume that Jesus was a virtuous agent that we aim to mimic in order to be morally right.
