Moral: Definitions Flashcards
(70 cards)
What is applied ethics?
The branch of ethics concerned with the application of normative ethical theories to particular issues, such as lying or stealing.
Define arête.
An ‘excellence’, or more specifically, a ‘virtue’ – a quality that aids the fulfilment of a thing’s ergon (Aristotle).
What is the Categorical Imperative?
Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.’ (Kant)
What does character refer to in moral philosophy?
A person’s habitual dispositions regarding what they feel, how they think, how they react, the choices they make, and the actions they perform, under different circumstances.
What is a character trait?
An attribute that is exhibited by an individual as a matter of habit, e.g. honesty or being bad-tempered.
What is the definition of choice in moral philosophy?
What we decide upon as a result of deliberation, typically giving rise to voluntary action.
What is consequentialism, act?
The theory that actions are morally right or wrong depending on their consequences and nothing else.
What is a contradiction in conception?
In Kantian ethics, it refers to a maxim that would be self-contradictory if willed to become a universal law.
Define contradiction in will.
In Kantian ethics, a maxim that cannot be rationally willed to become universal law, even if it is not self-contradictory.
What is deontology?
The study of what one must do; it claims that actions are right or wrong in themselves, regardless of their consequences.
What does desirable mean?
1) Worthy of being desired. 2) Capable of being desired.
What is the doctrine of the mean?
Aristotle’s claim that virtue requires us to feel, choose, and act in an ‘intermediate’ way.
Differentiate between general and specific duties.
General duties are obligations towards anyone (e.g. do not murder), while specific duties arise from personal or social relationships.
What are perfect and imperfect duties?
Perfect duties must always be fulfilled without choice, while imperfect duties allow some discretion in how they are fulfilled.
What is an end in moral philosophy?
What an action seeks to achieve or secure, its aim or purpose.
Define final end.
An end that we desire for its own sake, without further purpose.
What does ergon mean?
‘Function’ or ‘characteristic activity’ of something.
What is ethics?
The branch of philosophy concerned with the evaluation of human conduct.
What is eudaimonia?
Often translated as ‘happiness’, better understood as ‘living well and faring well’ (Aristotle).
What is the experience machine thought experiment?
Nozick’s thought experiment concerning a virtual reality machine that creates the experience of a happy life.
Define faculty in moral philosophy.
A mental capacity or ability, such as sight or reason.
What is felicific calculus?
In Bentham’s ethics, the means of calculating pleasures and pains caused by an action.
What are first principles?
Basic or foundational propositions in an area of knowledge or theory.
What is the formula of humanity?
Act in such a way that you always treat humanity as an end and never merely as a means (Kant).
