Moral Reasoning Flashcards
Descriptive Ethics
Sociological or anthropological discipline that attempts to describe the morals of a particular society or culture
Normative Ethics
A discipline that produces moral norms or rules. Prescribes moral behavior
Metaethics
A branch of analytic philosophy that explores the status, foundations, and scope or moral values, properties, and words. Focuses on what morality itself is
4 considerations of ethical judgements
- The Action
- The motive
- The consequences
- The character (of the moral actor)
Cognitivism
Metaethical view that moral statements similarly express truth-apt beliefs about the world (actual truths)
David Hume
Forerunner of non-cognitivism (instead stress emotional responses)
Non-Cognitivism
Moral statements have no truth-value because they cannot be empirically verified
Teleological Ethics
Human action should be judged in light of its end goal. Focus on human purpose.
Aristotle
Christopher Ash
Subtype 1: Natural Law Theory (natural end rather than particular consequences)
Oliver O’Donovan
Consequentialist Ethics
Ethical behavior (good or evil action) is to be determined by whether the consequence is negative or positive
Subtype 1: Ethical Egoism (for the self)
Thomas Hobbes
Ayn Rand
Subtype 2: Utilitarianism (for the people)
Jeremy Bentham
John Stuart Mill
Peter Singer
Deontological Ethics
Human actions are evaluated based off of how well they fulfill duty
Ethical Rationalism (duty, not self interest)
Immanuel Kant
Character/Virtue Ethics
Moral actions spring from the character of the actor…So we must reform everybody’s behavior
Aristotle Augustine Aquinas Alasdair MacIntyre Stanley Hauerwas
Burk’s Ethical Theory
Blended Approach (moral, duty to scriptural rules, glory of God) privileging teleology within the frame-work of divine revelation
Christian Moral Method
Faithful to Scripture, attending to the conduct, character, and goals of the professing believer
