PHI 112- Ethics

What statements contradicts ethical objectivism?

An action can be morally right for me and morally wrong for you in different circumstances

What claim best captures a point made by Alastair Norcross about headaches and sacrificing lives?

Consequentialism implies that it would be morally okay to sacrifice a human life in order to avoid inconveniences such as headaches as long as the sum total of headache pains were great enough.

The sign --No shirt, no shoes, no service-- is an example of what?

Cultural Relativism

"Is what is morally good commanded by God because it is morally good, or is it morally good because it is commanded by God?" This famous dilemma which arises in Divine Command Theory is known by what name?

Euthyphros dilemma

T/F: Both Bentham and Mill hold that some pleasures are better in kind than others.

False

Actions are good, says Mill, as far as they produce good consequences. But the only thing desirable in itself is what?

Happiness

What is NOT an objection often raised against the divine command theory?

It doesn't do justice to the conception of God as omnipotent

What distinguishes ethical absolutist from other forms of ethical objectivism?

Moral principles cannot be overridden and cannot have any exceptions

In determining a higher pleasure from a lower, Mill said what?

Only consensus of those who had experienced the outcomes of two different pleasures was relevant in deciding the higher from the lower

T/F: Both hedonists and utilitarians are consequentialists.

True

T/F: The following is an example of the reasoning of a rule utilitarian: If the practice of lying is overall bad, then one ought not to lie now, even if in this case to lie would actually bring about better consequences.

True

T/F: The reason that Bentham and Mill believe that pleasure is the only intrinsic good is because they believe that it is the only thing that everyone desires for its own sake.

True

What is one of the consequences of taking ethical relativism seriously?

We could easily critique our own society that would make way for needed social reform

What is the distinction between descriptive morality and normative ethics?

Whereas descriptive morality studies what is the case about peoples practices and moral beliefs, normative ethics considers the issue of rationally defensible standards for how people really ethically ought to act or be.

What is a universalists/objectivists position on universal and objective moral principles?

While the principle remains the same, their application will be different for different people and circumstances

Divine Command Theory

a theory that the morally right action is the one that God commands

Consequentialism

any ethical theory that judges the moral rightness or wrongness of an act according to the desirability or undesirability of the action's consequences

Virtue Ethics

any theory that sees the primary focus of ethics to be the character of the person rather than that person's actions or duties

Absolutism

claims that not only are moral principles objective but also cannot be overridden and no expectations

Feminist Ethics

focuses on the inequality between people (it's new and is not fully formed)

Subjective Ethical Relativism (subjectivism)

is the doctrine that what is right or wrong is solely a matter of each person's individual opinion

Ethical Relativism

is the position that there are no objective or universal principles, all moral judgements are a matter of human opinion

Ethical Egoism

is the theory that people always have a moral obligation to do only what is in their own self interest

Deontological Ethics

judges the moral rightness or wrongness of an act in terms of the intrinsic value moral value of the act (judges it based on the kind of act it is

Altruism

the claim that people should be unselfishly concern for the welfare of others

Hedonism

the claim that the only thing that has value is pleasure

Conventional Ethical Relativism (conventionalism)

the claim that what is right or wrong is relative to each particular society and is based on what that society believes is right or wrong

Psychological Hedonism

the doctrine that the only causes operating in human behavior is to increase pleasure and avoid pain

Ethical Hedonism

the moral rightness or wrongness of an action is the function of the amount of pain or pleasure it produces

Psychological Egoism

the theory that people always act in their own self interest, whether they know it or not

Utilitarianism

the theory that the right action is the one that produces the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people

Kantian Ethics

the theory that we have absolute moral duties that are determined by reason and that are not affected by the consequences

Ethical Objectivism

the view that there are universal and objectively valid moral principles that are relative neither to the individual nor to society