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| never permissibly broken; violating an absolute moral rule is always wrong |
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| the version of act consequentialism that says that only well-being is intrinsically valuable, and so says that an act is morally right just because it maximizes overall well-being |
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| the direct care and concern to improve the well-being of someone other than yourself |
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| those who do not care about living up to the moral views they sincerely hold |
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| a command of reason that requires a person’s obedience regardless of whether such obedience gets him anything he wants |
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| a family of normative ethical theories that share the idea that the morality of actions, policies, motives, or rules depends on their producing the best actual or expected results |
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| any method designed to guide us in successfully deliberating about what to do |
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| the normative ethical theory that says that actions are morally right just because they maximize self-interest |
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| punishment designed to make an example of the one who is punished |
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| the normative ethical principle that says that your treatment of others is morally acceptable if and only if you would be willing to be treated in exactly the same way |
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| the ability to reliable determine what your duty is, and a steady commitment to do your duty for its own sake |
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| a command of reason that requires a person to take the needed means to getting what she wants |
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| the law of retaliation, the principle that says that a wrongdoer deserves to be treated just as he treated his victim |
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| a principle of action that you give yourself. It contains your intended action and the reason you are doing it |
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| the set of those beings whose interests are intrinsically important. Membership signifies that you are owed respect, that you have moral rights, that others owe you moral duties for your own sake |
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| a case in which the morality of an action or decision depends on factors outside of our control |
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| the praiseworthy feature of an action that fulfills one’s moral duty |
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| producing the best possible results |
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| a rule whose general acceptance within a society would yield better results than any other such rule |
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| the ultimate utilitarian moral standard, which says that an action is morally right if and only if it does more to improve overall well-being than any other action you could have done in the circumstances |
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| the view that all human actions are motivated by self-interest, and that altruism is impossible |
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| the normative ethical theory that says that actions are morally right just because they would be required by an optimific social rule |
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| actions that affect only oneself |
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| a rule that gives conditions that are both necessary and sufficient for determining whether actions (or other things) are morally right |
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| Strictly conscientious action |
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| action motivated by the thought or the desire to do one’s duty for its own sake, rather than from any ulterior motive |
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| praiseworthy actions that are above and beyond the call of duty |
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| the feature of a maxim that indicated that every rational person can consistently act on it. Here is the three-part test for a maxim’s universalizabilty: (1) carefully frame the maxim; (2) imagine a world in which everyone shares and acts on that maxim; (3) determine whether the goal within the maxim can be achieved in such a world. If so, the maxim is universalizable. If not, it isn’t. |
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| the deliberate punishment of innocent victims, designed to deter third parties |
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