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Definition
The theory that there are nonoverridable moral principles that one
ought never violate. |
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The theory that we must consult our moral intuition or conscience in
every situation to discover the morally right thing to do (Butler) |
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The view that we should act properly by following moral
rules, and we judge people based on how they act, not on whether they are virtuous
people. |
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| he stronger of two conflicting duties that overrides a weaker one (Ross). |
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The utilitarian view that an act is right if and only if it results in as
much good as any available alternative. |
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| The theory that morality is grounded in love toward others and toward God. |
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An unselfish regard or concern for others; disinterested, other-regarding action;
contrasted with egoism |
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| The theory that there are no moral facts; contrasted with realism |
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The branch of ethics that deals with controversial moral problems—for
example, abortion, premarital sex, capital punishment, euthanasia, and civil disobedience. |
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| From the Greek for ‘‘self-rule,’’ self-directed freedom. |
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Four principal virtues advocated by Plato—namely, wisdom, temper-
ance, courage, and justice. |
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The theory that attitudes like caring and sensitivity to context is an
important aspect of the moral life |
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A moral imperative that is unqualified and does not depend on
one’s desires, the general statement of which is ‘‘Act only according to that maxim by
which you can at the same time will that it would become a universal law’’ (Kant). |
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Definition
| The view that an utterance has truth value. |
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| Consequentialism (teleological ethics) |
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Definition
The theory that the center of value is the
outcome or consequences of the act; if the consequences are on balance positive, then the
action is right; if negative, then wrong. |
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| Conventional ethical relativism (conventionalism) |
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Definition
The theory that all moral prin-
ciples are justified by virtue of their cultural acceptance |
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| The view that certain features in the act itself have intrinsic value. |
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The study of actual beliefs, customs, principles, and practices of
people and cultures. |
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| The view that ethical principles are the commands of God |
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Definition
The theory that everyone ought always to do those acts that will best
serve his or her own best self-interest. |
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Definition
The theory that we always do that act that we perceive to be in
our own best self-interest. |
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Definition
The noncognitive theory that moral utterances are (or include) factually
meaningless expressions of feelings (Ayer, Stevenson). |
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The theory that we have no innate ideas and that all knowledge comes from
experience. |
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The view that moral statements claim to report facts but such claims are in
error and no moral claims are actually true (Mackie). |
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| Ethical theory (moral philosophy) |
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Definition
The systematic effort to understand moral concepts
and justify moral principles and theories. |
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Term
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Definition
The prejudicial view that interprets all of reality through the eyes of
one’s own cultural beliefs and values. |
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Term
| Eudaimonistic utilitarianism |
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Definition
A type of utilitarian view maintaining that happiness
consists of higher-order pleasures (for example, intellectual, aesthetic, and social
enjoyments). |
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Definition
The puzzle set forth in Plato’s dialogue Euthyphro about
whether God loves the pious because it is pious or whether the pious is pious because
God loves it. |
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Definition
The metaethical problem regarding whether values are essentially
different from facts, whether moral assessments are derived from facts, and whether moral
statements can be true or false like factual statements. |
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| Fallacy of deriving ought from is |
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Definition
A problem pointed out by Hume about moving
from statements about what is the case to statements about what ought to be the case |
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Definition
Models of social interaction involving games in which players make
decisions that will bring each of them the greatest benefit. |
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Definition
The utilitarian view that we should tally the consequences of actions
according to seven aspects of a pleasurable or painful experience (Bentham). |
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Definition
The theory that pleasure is the only intrinsic positive value and that
pain is the only negative intrinsic value. |
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Definition
The theory that motivation must be explained exclusively
through desire for pleasure and aversion of pain. |
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Definition
The determination of the will on nonrational grounds; contrasted with
autonomy of the will, in which the will is guided by reason (Kant). |
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Definition
The nonmoral principle that takes the form ‘‘If you want A,
then do B’’ (Kant). |
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Term
| Indeterminacy of translation |
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Definition
The view that languages are often so fundamentally
different from each other that we cannot accurately translate concepts from one to another(Quine); this seems to imply that each society’s moral principles depend on its unique
linguistically grounded culture. |
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Definition
A thing that is worthy of desire because it is an effective means of
attaining our intrinsic goods. |
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Definition
A thing that is good because of its nature and is not derived from other
goods. |
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Definition
The theory that humans have a natural faculty that gives us an intuitive
awareness of morality |
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Term
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Definition
The branch of ethical theory that involves philosophizing about the very
terms of ethics and considering the structure of ethics as an object of inquiry. |
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Definition
The theory that at least one objective moral principle exists and
some core moral values are shared by all or most cultures |
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Definition
The theory that morality is a function of human nature and reason
can discover valid moral principles by looking at the nature of humanity and society. |
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Definition
The theory that moral values are grounded in natural properties within the
world, such as pleasure or satisfaction. |
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Definition
A problem about identifying ‘‘good’’ with any specific natural
property such as ‘‘pleasure’’ or ‘‘being more evolved’’ (Moore). |
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Definition
The view that we are responsible for the consequences of our
nonactions that we fail to perform (not just the actions that we perform). |
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Definition
The theory that there are no moral facts, moral truths, and moral
knowledge (Harman). |
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Definition
| The theory that an utterance has no truth value. |
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Term
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Definition
he theory that moral values are grounded in nonnatural facts about the
world (facts that can’t be detected through scientific means), such as Plato’s forms or
Moore’s indefinable ‘‘good.’’ |
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Definition
The theory that there are universal moral principles, valid for all
people and social environments. |
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Definition
An action that morality requires one to do, contrasted with an optional
act. |
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Definition
An argument to show that for any property that we identify
with ‘‘goodness,’’ we can ask, ‘‘Is that property itself good?’’ (Moore). |
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Definition
An act that is neither obligatory nor wrong to do; includes neutral acts and
supererogatory acts; contrasted with an obligatory act. |
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Definition
The view that moral principles have predominant authority and over-
ride other kinds of principles |
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| Paradox of ethical egoism |
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Definition
The problem that true friendship is central to egoistic
happiness yet requires altruism. |
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Term
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Definition
The problem that we all want to be happy, but we don’t want
happiness at any price or to the exclusion of certain other values. |
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| Paradox of morality and advantage |
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Definition
The problem that sometimes the requirements of
morality are incompatible with the requirements of self-interest (Gauthier). |
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Definition
The theory that morality always involves particular relations with
particular people, not lifeless abstractions |
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Term
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Definition
The theory that both action-based and virtue-based models are nec-
essary for an adequate or complete system |
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Definition
The view that moral principles must be workable and its rules must not
lay a heavy burden on us when we follow them. |
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Definition
The noncognitive theory that moral utterances are (or include) factually
meaningless recommends that others adopt one’s attitude (Hare) |
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Definition
| The practical, or action-guiding, nature of morality; involves commands. |
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Definition
A duty that is tentatively binding on us until one duty conflicts with
another (Ross) |
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Term
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Definition
The problem of determining what obligations we owe to future
generations of people who do not yet exist. |
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Definition
The view that moral principles must be made public in order to guide our
actions. |
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Definition
The theory that reason can tell us how the world is, independent of
experience |
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Definition
The theory that moral facts exist and are part of the fabric of the
universe; they exist independently of whether we believe them. |
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Term
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Definition
The theory that moral principles gain their validity only through
approval by the culture or the individual. |
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Term
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Definition
The intuitionist view that we must decide what is right or wrong in
each situation by consulting moral rules that we receive through intuition (Pufendorf, Ross |
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Term
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Definition
The utilitarian view that an act is right if and only if it is required by
a rule that is itself a member of a set of rules whose acceptance would lead to greater utility
for society than any available alternative. |
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Term
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Definition
The view that identifies all pleasure with satisfaction or enjoyment,
which may not involve sensuality. |
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Term
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Definition
| The view that identifies all pleasure with sensual enjoyment. |
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Definition
The theory that objective moral principles are to be applied
differently in different contexts. |
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Term
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Definition
The theory associated with Mackie that there are no objectively
factual moral values |
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Term
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Definition
The moral and political theory that people collectively agree to
behave morally as a way to reduce social chaos and create peace. |
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Term
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Definition
The theory that social structures and behavioral patterns are biologically
based and explained by evolutionary theory. |
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Term
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Definition
The theory that a person’s view that only he or she is worthy of moral
consideration; it is an extreme form of egoism. |
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Term
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Definition
A war of all against all where there are no common ways of life, no
enforced laws or moral rules, and no justice or injustice (Hobbes). |
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Term
| Subjective ethical relativism (subjectivism) |
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Definition
The relativist view that all moral prin-
ciples are justified by virtue of their acceptance by an individual agent him- or herself. |
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Definition
| An act that exceeds what morality requires |
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Term
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Definition
A higher-level property (for example, the color red) that
nonreductively depends on a lower-level property (for example, light rays and psycho-
logical perceptions). |
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Term
| Teleological ethics (consequentialism) |
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Definition
The theory that the center of value is the
outcome or consequences of the act; if the consequences are on balance positive, then the
action is right; if negative, then wrong. |
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Term
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Definition
Three principal virtues articulated by Paul in the New Testament—
namely, faith, hope, and charity. |
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Definition
The view that moral principles must apply to all people who are in a
relevantly similar situation. |
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Term
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Definition
The view that meaningful sentences must be either (1) tautolo-
gies (statements that are true by definition and of the form ‘‘A is A’’ or reducible to such
statements) or (2) empirically verifiable (statements regarding observations about the
world, such as ‘‘The book is red’’). |
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Definition
| A trained behavioral disposition that results in a habitual act of moral wrongness |
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Definition
| A trained behavioral dispositions that results in a habitual act of moral goodness |
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Definition
The view that we should acquire good character traits, not
simply act according to moral rules, and morality involves being a virtuous person. |
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Term
| Virtue theory (virtue ethics) |
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Definition
The view that morality involves producing excellent
persons who act well out of spontaneous goodness and serve as examples to inspire others. |
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