What is Ethics?
Moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or conducting of an activity.
What is ethics considered to be in this subject?
In this subject ethics is taken to be about whether or not the means (actions) and ends of our actions are ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.
By speaking of ‘means’ we are referring to:
The actions a person takes in order to try to achieve a goal.
What is Normative Ethics?
Normative ethics is about standards of right and wrong, good and bad conduct and character that ought to be accepted by people.
What is Positive Ethics?
Positive ethics is about what should be not what is.
What is Cultural relativism?
It is the argument that all ethical values, norms and rules are mere opinions or prejudices ground in a particular time and place.
It is argued that in any given period there are many co-existing communities that each has their own values, norms and beliefs.
What is the aim of theories of ethics?
They provide us with guides as to what constitutes right and wrong.
What are the three things that Theories of Ethics provides?
- Standards or guidelines for determining good and bad or right and wrong.
- Justifications for using these particular standards.
- Differentiation between what is and isn’t morally significant.
What is Morality?
Is following a community or groups ethical values, norms and principles.
What makes a decent person?
A person who tries to follow moral values, rules and norms and who would rather suffer than cause others to suffer.
What is Ethical Egoism?
This focuses on the individual and their understanding of what is in their own best interest.
What is Utilitarian?
People who have a view in utilitarianism base their moral decision on a calculation of what will produce the largest balance of good over bad outcomes for ALL people affected by an action.
What is Kantianism?
It is the belief that consequences should have no effect on the decision made. E.g. A lie is bad, whether its consequence is for the greater good or not, its still bad.
What is Empirical Universalism?
They claim that there are some common values that appear to be held right around the world in all communities and which we can then use as a guide. Particularly when interacting with people from other cultures.
