Ethics review
protagoras
"man, each one himself is the measure of all things"
epicurus
"maximize pleasure and minimize pain and not to go to extremes"
jeremy bentham
1748 to 1832 was an english philosopher gave the theory the name and first systematic exposition in principles of legislation and moral utiltarianism
rawls
1900 harvard university professor, sees fairness as the value of ethics as a result of self interest
ayn rand
20th century philosopher and author egoist called her own philosophy objectivism argues that like hobbes humans ae rational egoists who should avoid alienating ourselves from others, living amicably with others is best for our own interest
identification, research, analysis, application, decision making, evaluation, reflection
7 steps in critical thinking (refer to essay)
the principle/ double effect
What is the name of the principle that natural law theorists use to resolve conflicts between competing goods? That is, what principle do they use to decide whether an action is morally allowed when it has more than one outcome, one that promotes a universal human good and one that interferes with a good?
socrates
Which philosopher was the first to use philosophical thinking to investigate questions about good and evil, right and wrong?
rawls original position
a hypothetical situation in which the participants in a social contract deliberate about the rules of conduct that will be strictly followed once they enter the society and would encompass people from all of time, no one can't take advantage of a specific social situation
argument
a series of statements that work together to establish the truth of some point
conflict of interest
a situation in which personal needs and interests are at odds with professional obligations
respect for persons categorical imperative
act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of another, always as an end and never as a means ONLY
immoral
actions that are contrary to good moral reasoning
piccolo machiavelli
advises acts of pure and sometimes ruthless selfishness in the renaissance period
deductive or inductive
all arguments are either:
genetic fallacy
an attempt to discredit a position by condemning its source or to establish a position by condemning the source of an opposing viewpoint, are fallacious because the quality does not depend on their sourcee, on facts
fallacy
an illogical argument, often appearing logical at first glance, involving a statement or statements that in one way or another deceive or mislead
protagoras and thryasymachus
ancient greece ethical egoist, advocated that there were no such things as universal moral values or principles
disinterested rationality
ant claims that we aren't reasoning based purely on self entered or purely on the interests of other
deontological
approach to ethics from immanuel kant, emphasizes moral duty
NO
are all moral theories correct?
premises
are the (mainly claims) reasons and evidence that are cited, directly, or indirectly, to support the conclusion, must see if they are true or false ex: are all planets in fact spherical? is it true that the earth is a planet?
act utilitarian
argue we should use the utility prince for every action we take
inductive argument
argument where the premises don't relate to each other, just the conclusion; are not truth preserving or entail conclusions; probably or just likely to be true
moral and intellectual
aristotle believed that there were two types of virtues:
golden mean
aristotle's definition of virtues as being balanced ex: extreme deficiency cowardice, virtue courage, extreme excess foolhardiness
fact statments
asserting the state of affairs
kant
asserts that our goodwill can trump our desires
nonconsequentialist theories
base morality on factors other than the results or outcomes of actions. these other factors can include duties, obligations, rights, laws of nature, or social contracts
ignorance
basing beliefs on lack of evidence
nonmoral
behaviors that do not fall into the scope of the ethics environment and that normally has no moral effects on others
eudaemonia
being well and living well, flourishing
contrastarían theories
believe that right and wrong are a matter of agreement
ethical egoism
believes that people ought to be selfish or at least self interested, believes that altruism is possible, consequential, no moral obligations to others
core of act utilitarianism
bentams utility principle, believed that pleasure and pain can be measured on a mathematical scale, calls hedonic calculus
socrates
but who first pointed out that questions of moral value are important and part of the philosophical enterprise?
teology
by aristotle and is the belief that every kind of thing exists to do something unique and specific and that when thing fulfills its own purpose it is good
categorical imperative
central ethical truth for deontology, act only on that maxim which you can at the same time will to be a universal law, universal law is good and violating it is wrong
slippery slope
chain reaction to an undesirable consequence, yet there is not sufficient logical reason
red herring
changing the subject like prisoners escaping and using a red herring to make the dog lose their trail
virtues
character traits that make up a moral life
natural law theories
conceive of morality and its rules as being part of the organization of the universe, that is moral principles govern the world just as much as scientific laws, where good and evil, right and wrong are not abstractions but are part of the constitution of the universe.
moral judgements
conclusions as to whether specific actions are ethically right or wrong
goodwill
constructed as a concept for ethical reasoning along with duty, is to do the right thing for its own sake
universal human goods
created by aquinas, health, human life, procreation, caring for children and their welfare, knowledge and the avoidance of ignorance, human relationships and the consideration of other people's interests, actions that violate these are wrong because the violate our fulfillment
right
derived from sanskrit, shares the same root as ritual and rite, the ritual thing is the right thing to do
moral
describes actions that are judged to be consistent with good ethical thinking and decision making; originated from the latin word morè which meant something like "the way people are"
atomostic
describes natural rights theory, considers the individuals are what matter from a moral perspective and communities second
situational ethics
determining what is right or good solely on the basis of the momentary context; this implies that what is right or good today in one situation may not be right tomorrow in another set of circumstances
ad hominem abusive (to the man)
discredits the person's integrity, character, or intelligence
utilitarian theory
emphasise the aim of producing the greatest possible good for the greatest possible number
natural law theory
emphasizes conduct based upon the perceived order inherent in the universe
egoism
emphasizes the aim of always acting for perceived self interest, usually in the long term and at the expense of others if necessary, threatens traditional ethics,
uncogent
erm to deceive an inductive argument for when the premises are false/ and or the argument is weak or implausible
thomas hobbes
ethical egoist masterpiece is leviathan and points that we are rational and selfish, was a psychological and ethical egoism and said that helping others were in our self interest
socrates
ethics and morality took on separate meanings after who
equal liberties principle by locke
everyone is entitled to as many rights and liberties as possible as long as rights and liberties are not taken from others, our only duty is to avoid violating these rights of others-
the equal liberties principle
everyone is entitled to as many rights and liberties as possible as long as several rights and liberties are not taken from others
equal opportunity principle
everyone should have equal and fair opportunities to improve his or her situations in life regardless of how you started or are rich or poor
what does virtue mean in latin and greek culture-
excellence, implies a kind of skill or capacity, as in someone who provides a virtuoso or skilled performance.
rule statement
expresses a general preposition on how things are or should be
false appeal fallacies
fallacies inappropriately appealing to an outside source to make one's argument stronger
false appeal to popularity
fallacy of claiming an idea is true because many others think so without considering general populations can be influenced so easily and can be wrong (like hitler)
inconsistency
fallacy of contradiction, saying one thing and doing the other to please others
action centered theory
focuses on the still picture of a particular action and judge the rightness or wrongness of it
thrasymachus
for him, whoever ruled a socketed determined the standard of justice
friedrich nietzsche
from 1844-1900 was a german philosophize- egoist, philosopher, and poet, insisted that the ultimate characteristic of a human being is a list for power and the the more a person pursued that interest, the more exemplary they are, can be interested in helping others, wolves in sheeps clothing successful
act utilitarianism
from jeremy bentham, maintains that the right thing to do in any situation is the action that produces the greatest possible good for the greatest possible number, uses net utility
theory
function of theories, comes from the ancient greek word, which means "a looking at, viewing, beholding, observing
ethicl/moral principles
general guidelines of ethical behavior; the should statements of ethics
logical fallacies (list them all)
genetic, equivocation, faulty causation, false appeal, ignorance, inconsistency, straw man, red herring, either/ or, hasty generalization, two wrongs make a right, is/ought confusion, questionable claim, begging the question,
john stuart mill
godson of jeremy bentham and is the other founder of classical utilitarianism
natural law theory principle
good is to be done and pursued and evil avoided-
deon
greek word for duty
rule utilitarianism
guiding human action is only one aspect of what ethical theories do, is more invasive in everyday life, uses rules from society to follow good conduct, follows rules want to produce a happier society and to others, follow rules of society as long as they are good
utilitarianism
has its roots in ancient greece, epicurus of 300 bce, first major proponent of hedonism
duty
if one has a right to d something the the rest of us have a "____" to avoid violating that right
unsound
if one part of an deductive argument is false
veil of ignorance
imaginary process that keeps the contractors in the original position from knowing specific facts about themselves that might influence their decisions
negative right
implies a freedom from interference from others, when you can have the right to obtain and work hard for something
socratic problems
inability to define whose ideas were whose in platos book
critical thinking
informed and logical thought or logical problem solving
critical thinking
informed and logical thought, or logical problem solving
rule utilitarianism
inspired by john stuart mill, maintains that the right thing to do is follow rules that promote the greatest possible good, assuming they are followed generally
ad hominem circumstantial
is prejudiced, doesn't use verbal abuse but rather discredits the opponent based on circumstances
nature
is used to find the purpose of things, is what makes a thing unique
net utility
know as the greatest happiness principle is the main idea of utilitarianism- the right action in any situation is the one that tend to produce the greatest possible balance of happiness over unhappiness for the greatest possible number- net utility
stoics
later greek thinkers, deeply influenced by the idea that morality is a function of natural purposes, where self-control is the ultimate virtue but leads to moral paralysis: if we can only control our reaction, why do anything?
kant
lived and taught in koensburg russia around jeffersons founding of murcia time and never left more then 30 miles outside which affected his thinking of the universal, was a devout lutheran involved in pietism, valued strict discipline, believed we are autonomous
two wrongs make a right
make our own wrongdoings right by pointing out others wrongs to avoid taking responsibility
false appeal to emotion
manipulate others into agreeing by playing on their feelings rather than logic using synonyms like evil, love, good, hate
david hume
modern supporter of moral virtue
values
moral qualities that are considered important and worthy
ethical issues
moral questions or problems; situations or actions that contain legitimate questions of moral right or wrong
rights
morally authorized claims that impose legitimate obligations on others, according to aristotle makes up our essence
propertyof moral theories
must be descriptive, must prove some explanation of moral good or evil. whatever else may be true of moral values they are concepts. they are also prescriptive in giving guidelines
god
natural rights theorists believe that ___ ordained that having rights is what makes us human beings
begging the question
one assumes the point to be proven in an effort to prove it, when one uses the conclusion of the argument as one of the premises in support of the same conclusion
moral virtue
personal ability to discern a situation and understand what is the right behavior to follow
hobbes, locke, bentham, kant
philosophers that gave us the idea that people have rights and society must balance individual welfare and overall good of the group;
courage, wisdom, self control, justice
plato took an approach to finding pure happiness by asking people what made them happy and boiled it down to four classical virtues:
hasty generalizations
poor inductive reasoning, sees a few examples or causes of something and stereotypes the findings onto a larger group, originates prejudices
ethical/moral issues
questions, problems, situations, or actions that contain legitimate matters of moral right or wrong
common form of syllogism
reasons form a rule statement and a fact statement and a conclusion
form of an argument
refers to an arguments structure
structure
refers to the nature of the logical relationship between the premises and the claim the argument purports to establish, must be related to the premises/claim ex: all planets are spheres, an orange is a sphere, therefore an orange is a planet
intellectual values
reflect what is unique and important about human nature like human reason or rationality, calmness, contemplation, reflection, wisdom, and knowledge
moral theories
represent the inheritance left by these great philosopher and are groups of systematically related ethical principles
natural scientific laws
reveal how the world is
natural moral laws
reveal how the world ought to be
life, liberty, and property
rights locke mentioned:
structure of a deductive argument
rigid and formal, the premises and conclusion must interrelate and both be true
false appeal to authority
sing experts authority innaporpriately, but can be appropriate such as when health officials say smoking is a hazard to our health but not when brad pitt says so
plato
socrates closest followers, responsible for what we know of socrates through "plato's dialogues", chose to right after seeing socrates confrontational death, established in 387 bce an academy
rule utilitarian
tells us we should use the utility principle for social rule and policies
cogent
term to describe an inductive argument if both the premises are true and the reasons make a strong argument for the conclusion being plausible or likely
is ought confusion
thats the way always it has been, argues the legitimacy of an idea, practice, or trait based on consistent ways, just because things are what they are doesn't mean it should be that way
plagiarism
the act of using the words, ideas, or creative works of others while giving the impression that the material is one's own creation
critical thinking
the active and systematic process of communication, problem solving, evaluations, analysis, synthesis, and reflection, both individually and in community, to foster understanding, support sound decision making, and guide action,
applied ethics
the actual use of moral standards of conduct in making decisions about human problems
legalism
the belief that ethical discussions are unnecessary because we have laws to govern people's behavior; or that ethical standards and legal standards are really the same
absolutism
the belief that there are no matters of opinion in ethics since all moral judgements are the same for everyone, coupled with the attitude that one's own opinions are the correct ones
relativism
the belief that there are no moral standards, judgements, or principles that apply to everyone;
cultural relativism
the belief that there are no moral standards, judgements, or principles that apply to everyone; that what is morally right and wrong varies from one culture to another
subjective relativism
the belief that there are no moral standards, judgements, or principles that apply to everyone; that what is morally right and wrong varies from one person to another
logic
the branch of philosophy that deals with the principles of good thinking and reasoning processes, subfield of philosophy; known as logical problem solving
likely or reasonably foreseeable outcomes
the egoist is responsibly only for
human nature
the fact that humans have rights defines this
argument
the foundation of logic that is a group of statements that work together to establish the truth of some point
factors that bentham maintained to be considered
the intensity of the pleasure and act tends to produce, the duration of the pleasure, the likelihood of ofccuringm the delay or immediacy in experiencing that pleasure, the potential act to produce pain, the number of people who experience the pleasure or pain
statistical correlation
the more often a happens the more often b happens, correlation does not prove causation
conclusion
the point that the premises were designed to support or demonstrate ex: therefore, finally so and so.......
form and force
the principal differences between deductive and inductive arguments can be summed up as:
psychological egoism
the psychological theory that people are inherently selfish, is a theory about how our mind actually works
ethics
the reasoned study of what is morally right and wrong, good and bad, comes from the Greek word ethos which means "the way things should be";
ethical egoism
the right action in any situation is the one that is most in the individuals long term best interests, what theory?
utiltarianism
the view that what we ought to do morally is produce the greatest possible utility for the greatest possible number of people, producing, intentions and motives do no matter
consequentialist theories
theories that base morality based on the results or outcomes of behaviors. actions with good consequences are morally right; actions with bad consequences are morally wrong
syllogism
there are numerous basic truth reserving deductive argument structures, but a classic aristotelian form is called a ; it consists of two premises/statements followed by a conclusion
the equal liberties principle, the equal opportunity principle, and the difference principle
three principles of justice in for rawls
either/or-false dichotomy or false dilemma,
tries to make others think they are in a logical trap by suggesting there are only two sides, limiting ones options even though there will always be more
act and rule
two different types of utilitarians
reason and eudaemonia
two qualities unique to human
enumerative induction
type of common form of inductive argument ex: premise #1 mars, is spherical premise #2 venus is spherical, and so on to conclusion: all planets are spherical
equivocation
uses ambiguity or play on words where a phrase can be unclear or its meaning is used in different ways
everyone
utilitarianism cares for who as a whole?
franklin
viewed people would be to corrupt and elect corrupt people, but hasn't been proven right
moral virtues
virtues we probably need in order to conduct well the normal affairs of daily life like self control, courage, gentleness and wittiness to do well in a community
virtuous, aristotle
we cannot flourish unless we are: by who?
altruism
what all egoistic theories share a common denial of, has to do with our ability to act unselfishly and act from concern for others
rational reflection
what are humans only capable of compared to other animals
rights and liberties, powers and opportunities, income and wealth, self respect
what are rawls four primary goods values on what all people would try to get-
justice, wisdom, courage, and temperance/self control
what are the four ultimate virtues according to plato?
authority, culture, emotion, intuition, reason
what are the origins of ethical beliefs according to doss (consequentialist)
security, due process/harsh punishments, liberty, political, equality, welfare
what are the six types of basic human rights?
the premises, the structure, the conclusion
what are the three parts of an argument?
theological, philosophical
what are the two main approaches to the study of ethics
plagiarism, bribery, misrepresentation, conspiracy, fabrication, collusion, duplicate submission, improper computer/calculator use
what are the types of academic misconduct?
right and wrong, praiseworthy or blameworthy
what distinguishes egoism and utilitarianism:
just because you study ethics doesnt make you an ethical person
what is the difference between doing ethics and being ethical
autonomy
what kant believed we are, means self law in greek auto, self
pure reason
what kant claims can solely motivate us but not hume who claims it is the slave of our passions
positive right
what locke established, must fulfill three criteria, where someone owes you
protects peoples rights
what locke's view of the government
reason
what makes humans unique
consequential and nonconsequential
what two groups do moral theories classify into?
agent centered theory
what virtue ethics is, focuses on the character of the person that perform the actions, if the person is good so will be their actions
faulty causation fallacies
when a casual argument is an attempt to show that one thing causes another but when no casual connection exists
straw man
when an arguer takes the opponents argument and distorts it, takes it out of context, or exaggerates it so that it might be more easily attacked, sets up your opponent
double effect
when bad consequences result from an attempt to do good, intent be good
questionable claim
when claims contradict with common knowledge, generalizes with words like all, every, never, etc
truth preserving
when deductive arguments are properly structured
sound
when the structure is valid and the statements and the premises are all true in a deductive argument
valid
when the structure of a deductive argument is logically correct regardless of conclusion results
invalid
when the structure of a deductive argument is not logically correct
the difference principle
when there have to be differences, the differences must be arranged for the greatest possible benefit of the least advantaged people
thomas aquinas
where does the fullest and most developed version of natural law theory come from?
social contract
where everyone agrees everything in a political or economic system is fair
post hoc (after the thing in a faulty causation fallacy)
where one event causes another, where one mistakes that the first event must have caused the second
Thales
who is credited with being the first truly philosophical thinker around 400 Bce?
aristotle
who liked ethics to be more inclusive in our personal lives than plato to have a more quality life and have people seek a golden mean between extremes in most things
aquinas adopts from aristotle that
who says that our purpose in life is to fulfill our human nature, and the foundation of ethics is to fulfill our purpose
plato and aristotle
who shared with socrates that conviction of logic and reason ought to guide is?
jeremy bentham and stuart mill
who tells us that satisfaction is identical with good
aquinas
who was the medieval moral theory thinker and formed the foundation for catholicism?
greek philosopher plato and his student Aristotle in fourth century bce
who were the earliest writers of ethics in the western world?
martin luther king jr
who wrote a letter from birmingham jail?
virtue ethos theory of socrates, plato, and aristotle-
who? focuses primarily on personal character, becoming the right kind of person by developing certain virtuous character traits
aristotle
whose ethics? means living a life of reason and logic, developing relationships, achieving happiness and fulfillment in a human being
aristotle
worlds first naturalist