Ethics Flashcards
(24 cards)
Deontology
For an act to be morally good, the act must be:
1) Right
2) Known to be right
3) Done on account of its rightness
Consequentialism
The results of moral actions are what count. The right is what maximizes the good
Realism
The belief that there are objective moral values
Amoralism/Moral Nihilism
A disbelief in morality or an actively anti-moral stance
Moral Relativism
Morality is relative to culture or perspective
Expressivism
Moral statements are not about facts, but expressions of evaluation
Emotivism
Moral statements are expressions of one’s feelings towards something
Intuitionism
Moral truths are known from direct intuition of these moral truths, either by a moral sense or some other method
Divine Command
God commands what is good and goodness consists in obeying him.
Proponents: William of Ockham, St. Augustine, traditional religion.
Ethical Egoism
Goodness consists in seeking for the best for one’s self. If “the best” has no objectivity, it becomes a form of amoralism, if not it is often categorized as “enlightened self-interest”.
Proponents: Rand, Nietzsche?
Virtue Ethics
Morality consists in the cultivation of virtues
Proponents: Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, Philippa Foot
Natural Law Theory
There are certain laws which are discernible purely from reason that form the basis of objective goodness/rightness. These laws are those derive from our nature as rational and inherently social beings
Proponents: St. Thomas Aquinas, Locke, Hobbes, Stoicism, Nozick
Utilitarianism
Goodness is what promotes happiness/pleasure, specifically happiness for the greatest number, with every person given equal regard unless distinguished by their capacity to promote happiness. Comes in ACT (evaluating each instance) and RULE (find rules for greatest happiness) forms.
Proponents: Bentham, Mill, Godwin
Sentimentalism
Morality consists of feelings which derive from our upbringing and nature.
Proponents: Hume, Smith
Kantianism
Follow the Categorical Imperative,
1) Act according to the maxim that you treat others as an ends, not as a means
2) Will that your action should be a universal law
3) Act as a legislative member of the Kingdom of Ends. Nothing moral can be inherently contradictory, ex: permitting lying would undermine the reason to communicate.
Rationality is the source of ethical worth.
Proponents: Kant
Hegelianism
Categorical Imperative augmented with the content of the sanctity of human life (because humans are free) and property (because freedom is so actualized). One cannot contradict the value of human life or property
Proponents: Hegel
Buddhism/Schopenhauer
Desire is the root of all suffering and evil. Compassion for those who suffer the source of all goodness.
Proponents: Buddhism, Schopenhauer
Nietzsche
Values should come from our noble sentiments which are vitality, health, and power, as opposed to a slave morality of weakness.
Proponents: Sartre
Sartre
Be authentic (self-responsible).
Proponents: Sartre
Prima Facie/Pro Tanto Duties
There are multiple ethical duties that are known to us via intuition based on the intrinsic goods of virtue, pleasure, pleasure given to virtue/displeasure to vice, and knowledge. The duties are:
1) Justice
2) Beneficence
3) Self-Improvement
4) Non-maleficence
5) Fidelity
6) Reparation
7) Gratitude
Audi adds:
8) Veracity
9) Enhancement/preservation of freedom
10) Respectfulness
When these conflict, we must use our ethical judgement to discern which one really holds, thus the term “prima facie” or “pro tanto”
Proponents: W.D. Ross, Audi
Doctrine of Double Effect
Associated with St. Thomas Aquinas and Catholic philosophy. We can do something even if evil might result from it, provided:
1) The action is morally permissible
2) There is no way to produce the good without producing the evil
3) The evil is not the intended end of the action
4) The evil is in proportion to the good
The Trolley Problem
Proposed by Philippa Foot. You’re the conductor of a trolley. The brakes fail and if you do not flip the switch to make an oncoming turn, you will kill 5 people trapped on the tracks ahead. However, if you do flip the switch, you’ll kill 1 person trapped on the other set of tracks. What do you do?
Judith Thomson: What if you were a bystander who could stop the trolley by throwing an innocent fat man from a bridge onto the track? What if he was the one who sabotaged the trolley?
Transplant Dilemma
Proposed by Judith Thomson. A doctor has 5 sick people who will die imminently without a transplant. A healthy person walks in who is a tissue match for all five. Should the doctor kill the person to give the 5 people his organs?
The Violinist Dilemma
Proposed by Judith Thomson. You wake up and find you’re hooked up to a violinist in a hospital bed. You are told that you were kidnapped and brought to the hospital because you alone have compatible kidneys that can keep the violinist alive till he can recover from his ailment - approximately 9 months. If you leave he will surely die. Do you stay? Proposed to demonstrate the right to abortion.
