Quiz 7

Metaethics

A branch of ethics that seeks to ascertain the meaning of ethical concepts such as "good," "bad," "right," "wrong," etc. and to discover whether these concepts refer to objective truths or mere conventions.

Divine Command Theory

A deontological moral theory which maintains that all moral standards are derived from God's commands. On the divine command theory, what makes an action right or wrong depends upon whether or not it is consistent with God's commands

Virtue

A stable character trait or habit that provides a person with a disposition to act in certain excellent ways; can be moral or intellectual. A moral virtue disposes a person to act morally, while an intellectual virtue disposes a person to acquire true beliefs and avoid acquiring false beliefs.

Act Utilitarianism

A version of consequentialism that requires that one apply the principle of utility to individual acts to determine their rightness or wrongness; an action is right if and only if it brings about the greatest pleasure for the greatest number of people.

Ethical Egoism

A version of consequentialism which holds that one's most basic moral duty is to do what is in one's own best interest

Quantitative hedonism

A version of utilitarianism that focuses entirely on the amount of pleasure produced by acts, irrespective of the quality of pleasure involved

Qualitative hedonism

A version of utilitarianism that takes into account the quality of pleasures

Rule Utilitarianism

A version of utilitarianism that, in contrast to act utilitarianism, focuses on the utility of following rules rather than particular acts in producing happiness; claims that a rule should be followed only if following it generally brings about the most happiness for the most people

Deontology

Along with consequentialism and virtue theory, one of the three types of normative ethical theory; an action is right if and only if it accords with the relevant moral rules, regardless of its consequences

Consequentialism

Along with deontology and virtue theory, one of the three types of normative ethical theory; takes the most basic moral duty to be the achievement of some specified end (e.g., hap- piness), and an action is considered right if and only if it contributes to bringing about that end

Hypothetical Imperative

Contrasted with the categorical imperative; a command that is binding on a person only if she meets a specified condition. For example, "If you desire x, then do y."

Natural Law

In ethics, a normative ethical theory which holds that objective moral standards may be derived from reason and the observation of human nature

Categorical Imperative

Proposed by Immanuel Kant; the supreme, universal moral principle from which all ethical duties may be deduced. In its most familiar formulation, it stipulates that one must be able to universalize one's rule of action for it to be considered moral

Ethical Hedonism

The ethical theory that one's most basic moral duty is to do that which results in the most pleasure

Principle of Utility

The utilitarian ethical standard that judges every action as good or bad according to its tendency to promote or diminish happiness (usually defined in terms of pleasure)

Cultural Relativism

The view that all moral values are merely the products of the customs, tastes, and standards of a culture and therefore are neither objectively true nor universally binding

Nihilism

The view that life has no objective meaning

Emotivism

The view that moral judgments have no truth value but are merely expressions of emotion. On this view, the moral judgment "Torturing animals is evil" means something like "Torturing animals—yecch!"

Ethical Naturalism

The view that moral standards are grounded in, or reducible to, facts about the natural world.

Ethical Nonaturalism

The view that moral standards are not grounded in or reducible to natural facts but rather transcend the natural world

Moral Subjectivism

The view that moral values are relative to each person's subjective preferences

Psychological Egoism

The view that people always naturally strive to do what is in their own best interest. This view is distinct from ethical egoism which is a normative view about how promote or diminish happiness (usually defined in terms of pleasure)

Psychological hedonism

The view that the ultimate motivation behind every person's actions is the desire for pleasure and that every action is aimed at achieving this end

Ethical Relativism

The view that there are no objective, universally true moral values; all moral standards are a matter of cultural or personal preference.

Moral Objectivism

The view that there are universally binding moral standards which are independent of cultural norms and individual preferences