Phil 104 introduction to ethics

practicability

a moral system must be workable its rules must not lay to heavy a burden on people. ethical systems should take into account human limitations into consideration

rule dentology

accepts the principle of universalizability as well as the notion that in making moral judgments we are appealing to principles or rules which make up a set of legitimate moral guidelines regardless of the consequnces

rule utlilitarianism

act is right if and only if it is required by a rule that is itself a member of a set of rules, which would lead to greater utlility of society than any available alternative

utilitarianism

"the greatest happiness for the greatest number." idea that the goal of society should be to bring about the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. the ultimate criterion of morality lies in some non moral value which results from the act like pleasure happiness welfare.

mixed deontological ethics

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virtue based ethical systems

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psychological egosim

People only do what is in their own best self interest, humans cannot be motivated by anything other than what we believe will help us

diversity thesis

The view that cultures are always different therefore there is a differences in moral principle

sensualists

a type of hedonist that equates all pleasure with satisfaction or enjoyment. the opposite of sensual enjoyment is pain

act utilitarianism

an act is right if and only if it results in as much good as any available alternative

satisfactionists

another type of hedonist who equates all pleasure with satisfaction or enjoyment. satisfaction is a pleasurable state of consciousness, such as one we experience reward for our efforts. the opposite of satisfaction is displeasure or dissatisfaction.

hedonists

asserts all pleasure is good, pleasure is the only thing good in itself

overridingness

belief that moral principles are so important that they take precedence over other considerations. although it may be beneficial to do one thing it may be morally wrong therefore should not be done

ethics

branch of philosophy that deals with how we ought to live (idea of good; concepts such as right and wrong)

divisions within ethics

descriptive morality(actual beliefs, customs, principles, culture) moral philosophy (systemic effort to understand moral concepts) applied ethics (controversial moral problems such as abortion, premarital sex, capital punishment, euthanasia)

purely instrumental good

good as a means to further intrinsic goods or combination goods, medicine is an instrumental good because although not good in itself it allows for future good by not getting sick

combination goods

good in themselves and good as a means to further good

pure intrinsic good

good in themselves, simple joys or pleasures

supererogatory

highly altruistic acts

moral relativism

holds that there is no universally valid moral principles. therefore all moral principles are valid relative to individual choice (subjectivism) or to culture(conventionalism) individual chooses therefore individual is always right. if someone does not like what someone else is doing they can only disagree and not do anything else

nonintrinsicalists

it is by personal choosing whether or not pleasure is good or pain is bad

basic values

material&physical, economic, moral, social, aesthetic, political, religion, intellectual

universalizability

moral principles must apply to all who are in reliability similar situations. rules out double standards

publicity

moral principles must be publically known if they are to play a guiding role in our lives. (rules)

moral absolutism

moral principles which cannot be overridden by any other consideration

objectivists

moral values exist and are independent of humans

conventionalism

philosophical attitude that fundamental principles of a certain kind are grounded on (explicit or implicit) agreements in society, rather than on external reality.

subjectivism

philosophical tenet that "our own mental activity is the only unquestionable fact of our experience"

instrinsicalists

pleasure is an intrinsic value, pleasure is good in iself

prescriptive

practical or action/guiding nature of morality. put forward as imperatives, love thy neighbor do not lust for your neighbors husband/wife. used also to evaluate behavior, praise or blame, and produce feelings of satisfaction or guilt

ethnocentrism

prejudicial view that interprets all of reality through ones own cultural beliefs and values. uncritical belief in superiority of your culture and values compared to others.

altruism

putting motives of others ahead of your own

act dentology

right or wrong is determined by ones own conscience for each situation

two features of utilitarianism

the Consequentialist principle : the rightness or wrongness of an act is determined by the goodness or badness of the results the Utility principle: the only thing that is good in itself is some specific type of state(pleasure, happiness)

dentology

the rightness or wrongness of actions themselves, as opposed to the rightness or wrongness of the consequences of those actions. if you do something bad but it has good results it doesn't mean the action is right

universal ethical egoism

the view that Everyone ought to act in his or her own self-interest even when it conflicts with the interest's of others. it is our duty to do this

moral objectivism

the view that there are objective moral principles which are universally valid however when there is a conflict in morals then principles can be overridden. generally obeyed but there are exceptions

pluralist nonhedonist

they believe that pleasure or satisfaction is an intrinsic good, but assert that there are other intrinsic goods as well such as, knowledge, friendship, freedom, love, conscientiousness, and life

monist nonhedonist

they claim that there is one intrinsic value but that this one value is not pleasure. it might be "the good" which we do not entirely comprehend but which forms the basis of all other values

nonhedonist

they identify at least one other intrinsic good other than pleasure

combinationalists

try to combine both aspects into view. what is important is that the life plan be chosen by the person. there are different life plans

absolutists

type of objectivists: believe that the good or values exist independent of the world or apart from human or rational interest

weaker objectivists

type of objectivists: treat values as emergent properties or qualities in the nature of things. values are a part of the fabric of the world itself

subjectivists

values are simply the products of our desisres. all desires are equal anything you happen to desire is a good

economist argument

we don't worry about the social good but only about our good and this is how we attain the highest social good possible

dependency thesis

what is right or wrong ,good and bad, determined by society, collective subjectivism