Ethics midterm

Equivocation

arguments that assign two different meanings to the same term.

Begging the question

arguments where the premise and conclusion say the same thing, or where the conclusion assumes that the premise is true.

nonmoral statement

asserts not whether an action is good or bad but that a state of affairs is actual Example: A good knife cuts well

a strong argument with true premises is considered____

cogent

One criterion for evaluating scientific theories is conservatism which refers to how well a theory fits with what scientists already know. What concept in ethics is similar to conservatism?

consistency with considered moral judgements

Which criteria of adequacy is violated by the statement "we should not treat others equally"

consistency with our moral experiences

which premises and/or conclusion of this argument would be rejected by a utilitarian: People are experiencing total organ failure across the world and transplants are scarce Advances in science have led to the possibility of cross-species transplantation cross-species transplantation is unnatural therefore the research should be rejected

cross-species transplantation is unnatural therefore the research should be rejected

Act egoism and rule egoism never agree on what action a person should do

false

If one subscribes to divine command theory and believes genocide is wrong, but is told by God to commit genocide, what should he believe?

heinous acts can be right the genocide should be done in this case

Positive Rights

human rights that depend on positive government action, such as the right to education, right to adequate health care

implied premise

in an argument, this is a premise or proposition that is understood, but not stated. example: consider this argument: capital punishment kills a living human being, capital punishment carries a substantial chance that an innocent person will be killed, therefore capital punishment is wrong. (We shouldn't carry out an action if it carries a substantial chance that an innocent person will be killed)

The statement "everyone should respect a person's right to life" is making what kind of judgement?

judgement of obligations

Some believe that if the divine command theory is true, than the belief that God is good is______

meaningless

to a cultural relativist, a movement that seeks to change a culture is______

mistaken

Ethical egoism

one ought always to do what will produce one's owns greatest good

Rule Utilitarianism

one ought to act on the basis of rules that when applied universally will maximize the good

Categorical imperative

part of deontology: an imperative tells us what we should do for its own sake. First version: Regardless of our wants and needs Kant says we should always do those things that we can rationally make universal. implies principle of impartiality Second version: Always treat people as an "ends in themselves"

Heteronomy

part of deontology: morals/actions that are influenced by an outside force (opposite of autonomy)

Hypothetical imperative

part of deontology: tells us what we should do to achieve certain goals, desires or outcome Example: those who desire an A should study really hard, if you feel like helping someone, help them out.

Autonomy

part of deontology: capacity of self rule or leading one's life according to reasons, values, or desires that are authentically one's own

prima facie principles

principles that apply in a situation unless exceptions are justified Beneficence: we should not deliberately harm others

motivated reasoning

processing information in a way that allows consumers to reach the conclusion that they want to reach. The difference with confirmation bias is that it sets out to prove something, not find the truth

inductive argument

reasoning from individual observations or events to conclude a general principle Example: Almost all the men at this college have high SAT scores. Therefore, Julio (a male student at the college) probably has high SAT scores. Disclaimer: will use words like "likely" "probably" etc.

Godwin's Law

rhetorical trend where arguments devolve to compare one side to Hitler and the Nazis (common in online arguments)

counter examples to psychological egoism

sacrificing one's life to save a stranger self-destructive behavior that one knows is harmful, like smoking

Act Utiliarianism (STUDY FOR ESSAY)

says that the right actions are those that directly produce the greatest overall good, everyone considered

A valid argument with true premises is considered____

sound

if a moral theory implies that one is morally infallible then_____

such a statement provides evidence against the theory because it conflicts with our moral experiences

why is it wrong to ask for a loan and not pay it back according to the Categorical Imperative

such an action can't be universalized it treats the loaner as mere means

applied ethics

the application of moral norms to specific moral issues or cases, particularly those in a profession such as medicine or law

When a group of people say that a law should be changed because it is immoral, what general idea are these people expressing?

the dominance of moral norms

Principle of universality

the idea that a moral statement (a principle, rule, or judgment) that applies in one situation must apply in all other situations that are relevantly similar

Obligation for Future Generations

the obligation that individuals today to keep the world in the best shape possible for generations to come

If an inductive argument is strong when____

the premises offer probable support for the conclusion

descriptive ethics

the scientific study of moral beliefs and practices. Its aim is to describe and explain how people actually behave and think when dealing with moral issues and concepts.

metaethics

the study of the meaning and logical structure of moral beliefs (What does it mean for an action to be right?) Example: How can a moral principle be justified?

availability error

the tendency to rely on evidence not because it's reliable but because it's vivid or memorable—in other words, psychologically available.

act egoism

the theory that to determine right action, you must apply the egoistic principle to individual acts

rule egoism

the theory that to determine right action, you must see if an act falls under a rule that if consistently followed would maximize your self-interest

Emotivism

the view that moral utterances are neither true nor false but are expressions of emotions or attitudes Example: the statement "happiness is good" would be viewed as neither true or false under this belief.

If someone is prevented from speaking their mind then how are they wrong?

their capacity for autonomous action has been undermined their negative rights have been violated

non normative ethics

theories that examine how individuals reason and act, but NOT what ought to be done, no solutions

According to subjective relativism people are morally infallible

true

It is a universal belief among cultures that massive amounts of killing for no reason is wrong because no culture can survive if such a belief was rejected

true

Kant's theory states that one may not break a promise even if they wanted to, because people in general would still keep their promises

true

Moral rules can be objective even if they have exceptions so long as the truth of those rules doesn't depend upon what anyone thinks

true

If a deductive argument is valid then if the premises and conclusion of the argument are_____

true Disclaimer: its not about if the premises are true but about how whether if the premises were true the conclusion would be true.

Camilla lives in a culture where eating meat is considered right and she agrees. what view informs her belief?

unknown because the statement doesn't specify why she agrees

What is this argument described as: Every person has the right to life, it is wrong to kill someone who has the right to life therefore capital punishment is wrong

unsound and invalid

intrinsic value

value independent of any benefit to humans. valuable in of themselves.

Subjective Relativism

view that an action is morally right if one approves of it

Cultural relativism

view that an action is morally right if one's culture approves of it

Psychological egoism

view that the motive for our actions is self interest. A description of the true nature of our decisions. To put it another way, an action that does not advance one's own welfare cannot be right. problem is it renders the theory untestable. Another problem is you can't pursue happiness and expect to find it directly.

What is this argument described as: The news reported on a man pretending to be homeless for donations. Therefore it is likely that people who appear homeless are only pretending

weak

Divine Command Theory

what is moral is determined by God's commands and that for a person to be moral he is to follow God's commands.

instrumental value

worth as an instrument or a tool that can be used to accomplish a goal. valuable as a means to an end. example: money

an argument with a moral statement as its conclusion must have at least one moral statrement as a premise because:

you can't establish what should be moral based on nonmoral statements

considered moral judgment

A moral assessment that is as free from bias and distorting passions as possible. We generally trust such a judgment unless there is a reason to doubt it.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

An argument based on a flawed claim of a causal relationship (Latin: 'after this, therefore because of this')

Appeal to Ignorance

An argument that assumes the absence of evidence entitles belief to a claim.

Straw Man

An argument that depends on a misrepresentation of someone else's claim.

Faulty Analogy

An argument that depends on similarities between two seemingly dissimilar things.

Slippery slope

An argument that relies on a dubious premise to argue that a particular action will lead to other actions that will result in disaster.

Hasty Generalization

An inductive argument that draws a sweeping conclusion from a small sample.

Deontology (STUDY FOR ESSAY)

Approach to ethics that judges the morality of an action based on the action's adherence to rules. Described as duty or obligation, because rules 'binds you to your duty'

Ad Hominem

Arguing that a claim should be rejected because of the person who is making it.

Appeal to Authority

Arguments that cite nonexperts as authoritative voices in support of a moral argument, or experts lacking sufficient evidence.

Principle of Utility

Bentham's definition of the utilitarian principle; requires that the rule used in making a decision must bring about positive results when applied to a wide variety of situations

The Moral Criteria of Adequacy

Criterion 1: Consistency with considered judgments. (There is something seriously wrong, for example, with a theory that approves of the murder of innocent people, the wanton torture of children, or the enslavement of millions of men and women) Criterion 2: Consistency with our moral experiences. (A moral theory is inconsistent with the moral life if it implies that we do not have one or more of these basic moral experiences: we sometimes make moral judgements and sometimes commit wrongful acts) Criterion 3: Usefulness in moral problem solving. (any moral theory good or bad that lacks usefulness is a dubious theory.

Modus Tollens

If P then Q Not Q Therefore not P

Modus Ponens

If P then Q P Therefore Q

Euthyphro Dilemma

If an action is right because God wills it, then heinous acts would be right if God willed them If God wills an action because it is right, than the divine command theory is false.

Two people agree its wrong to steal unless one is in great need through no fault of their own. How might they disagree?

If someone is in great need or not If someone is in great need or not due to their own decisions

why should implied premises be explicit?

It is difficult to evaluate an argument unless its main assumptions have been spelled out Implied premises are often the dubious parts of an argument it reduces the likelihood of a logical gap between the premises and the conclusion

Greatest Happiness Principle

Mill's definition of utilitarian principle: the principle that "holds that actions are right in proportion to how they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce unhappiness."

perfect duties

Moral obligations that are clearly articulated, such as a contract or verbal agreement. strictly binding and must be strictly followed.

imperfect duties

Moral obligations that can be interpreted in different ways and can be selectively followed.

If one does not reason critically about morality how might that lead someone to a path which denies all morality?

One will be unable to defend one's moral beliefs against criticism leading to skepticism about morality in general.

Principle of Double Effect

Part of natural law theory: Performing a good action may be permissible even if it has bad effects, but performing a bad action for the purpose of achieving good effect is never permissible.

distributive justice

The fair distribution of society's benefits and costs (such as income, taxes, jobs, and public service).

retributive justice

The fair use of punishment for wrongdoing.

The 4 Conditions of Double Theory

The nature-of-the-act condition: The action must be either morally good or indifferent. The Means-end condition: The bad effect must not be the means by which one achieves the good effect. The right-intention condition: The bad effect must only be an unintended side-effect of the action. The bad effect may be foreseen, but it may not be intended. The proportionality condition: The good effect must be at least equivalent in importance to the bad effect.

Ethnocentrism

The practice of evaluating or judging a different culture's norms, practices, behaviors, beliefs, people, and morals using your culture's norms and morals as a baseline for correctness, instead of using the standards of the particular culture involved.

normative ethics

The study of the principles, rules, or theories that guide our actions and judgments. Its aims is to try to establish the soundness of moral norms, especially the norms embodied in a comprehensive moral system or moral theory.

Dunning-Kruger Effect

The tendency for unskilled individuals to overestimate their own ability and the tendency for experts to underestimate their own ability. "loud prolly you find on social media"

Moral Objectivism

The view that what is right or wrong doesn't depend on what anyone thinks is right or wrong, in other words, there are absolute moral truths/universal principles valid for all people and social environments. Opposite of relativism.

Why is difficult for a cultural relativist to say 1950s segregation was bad?

There are no objective standards for judging cultures across time According to the cultural standards of the time, segregation was good

negative rights

Those rights that prohibit government from acting in certain ways; rights that are not to be interfered with.

What is the conclusion of this argument "There are poor people all over the world who need help. We have an obligation to help these people. After all those with the ability to do so are obligated to help anyone in need."

We have an obligation to help these people

An example of a non-consequentialist statement

We should always respect the decisions of others regardless of the consequences

People who believe morality is subjective believe_____

What is right is whatever one feels is right What is right and wrong varies depending on what one feels

how would a philosopher know if they achieved reflective equilibrium?

When there is as much agreement and coherence between moral judgments and moral theory

How would the following statement be classified as: Dr. King was a virtuous person

a moral judgement

Consider the following argument abortion involves terminating a human life, therefore abortion is wrong? what is need to make this argument valid?

a moral statement

moral statement

a statement saying an action or someone is right or wrong Example: capital punishment is good

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Principle of impartiality

all persons are equal and should be treated accordingly. Exceptions include situations involving merit and life-and-death situations

cultural relativism

an action is right because the culture says it is

deductive argument

an argument that reasons from known premises to an inevitable conclusion Example: All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore Socrates is a mortal.