ethical theories Flashcards
(40 cards)
“duty driven ethics”
deontology
ultimate goal in life is to reason
deontology
“free will produces more misery than all natural disasters combined”
deontology
universal good will is the basis of all morality
deontology
courage, intelligence, and self-control are morally neutral because they can be used for good or for evil
deontology
testing the goodness of an act:
- what if everyone did this?
- do unto others as you would want to have done unto you
- one may not do evil so that good may result (the end does not justify the means)
deontology
“a person has good will if he or she chooses to obey moral laws for the sake of moral law itself” (doing good simply because it is the right thing to do)
deontology
“moral acts are only praiseworthy purely because they are the right thing to do, not because we may gain from it, not because we want to, and not because it feels good to do it”
deontology
morally wrong = bad
morally neutral = never had opportunity, or simply wanting to do the right thing, or not having a desire to do bad
morally good = doing something because you know it is right
deontology
never look at the consequences because we have no control over them; our only duty is to do the right thing at all times
deontology
people have intrinsic value
deontology
John Stuart Mill
utilitarianism
looks only at the consequences of the act; the consequences alone decide whether the act is good or evil
utilitarianism
the purpose of morality is to make the world a better place
utilitarianism
“morality is about producing good consequences, not having good intentions”
utilitarianism
do whatever will bring the most benefit
utilitarianism
Church warns against this ethical theory because it looks only at the consequences and ignores the act itself
utilitarianism
the principle of utility = the right choice is the one that results in the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people
utilitarianism
in order to be fair, when looking at the consequences of an action, you must be selfless; the good of many > the good of few…even if you are one of the few
utilitarianism
“making moral decisions is a mathematical process of weighing probable positive and negative consequences”
utilitarianism
the end justifies the means
utilitarianism
“no act is evil if the good that results is sufficiently greater”
utilitarianism
wrongly assumes that:
- we have no bias or blindspots
- we aren’t affected by any negative cultural values
- we never rationalize our actions so that we can do what we want
- we have nothing left to learn
- as can see all of the short term and long term effects of our actions on ourselves and society
- we are omniscient and all-knowing
utilitarianism
Aristotle
virtue ethics
