Ethics-Key Terms and Concepts

Question 1

What are ethics

Answer 1

The study of how we ought to behave and how we should act morally

Question 2

A normative theory of ethics sets out

Answer 2

how we ought to behave through norms and rules, as well as how we ought to arrive at these

Question 3

Deontological ethical theories place an emphasis on

Answer 3

the features of an act to determine whether it is right or wrong, as well as the motive/intention of the act

Question 4

Teleological ethical theories place emphasis on

Answer 4

the effects or consequences of an act to determine morality, ie the ends justify the means

Question 5

What is absolutism

Question 5

What does absolutism entail?

Answer 5

Ethics/morality is unchanging and universal. It is an ethic that is factual and devoid of any emotion, independent of the knower

Question 6

What does relativism entail?

Answer 6

Ethics can be relative to culture, religion, time, circumstance and individual. It is changeable and not universal

Question 7

What is the Principle of the Double Effect

Answer 7

Applying the lesser of two evils