Term
| moral philosophy (Rachels) |
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Definition
- attempt to achieve a systematic understanding of the nature of morality and what it requires of us
- how we ought to live and why
- a single uncontroversial definition can't be found
- study of the values and guidelines by which we live, as well as the justification of these values and guidelines
- two traditional subdivisions: applied/normative ethics and theoretical/metaethics |
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Term
| theoretical/metaethics (Rachels) |
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Definition
| - concerned with the justification of these values and guidelines |
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Term
| applied/normative ethics (Rachels) |
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Definition
| - concerned with the study of the values and guidelines by which we live |
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Term
| moral reasoning (Rachels) |
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Definition
- the skill, which is involved in justification
- morality is first and foremost a matter of consulting reason |
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Term
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Definition
- morality is relative to the individual and is different for every person depending on what they feel
- one of two subdivisions of ethical relativism |
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Term
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Definition
- morality is different for different people - it's created by people
- has two subdivisions: cultural relativism and ethical subjectivism |
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Term
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Definition
- morality is relative to societal norms
- one of two subdivisions of ethical relativism |
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Term
| universal moral theory/objectivism (Rachels) |
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Definition
| - there are fundamental, objective moral principles and values that are universally true for all people, independent of their personal beliefs or culture |
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Term
| natural law theory (Rachels) |
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Definition
- morality is grounded in rational human nature rather than in God's commands or personal feelings or cultural norms
- often identified with the Catholic and other religious groups
- rejects cultural relativism |
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Term
| virtue ethics (Aristotle & Confucius) |
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Definition
- emphasizes right being over right action
- sort of people we are consitites the heart of our moral life
- key concepts: virtue, excellence, goodness, happiness, and habituation |
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Term
| teleological ethics (Aristotle) |
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Definition
- emphasizes purposive and goal-directed activity
- concerned primarily with moral value/goods/end rather than with moral obligation, duty, etc.
- concepts of obligation are definable in terms of concepts of value (e.g. good)
- there is a natural goal or telos of human life, toward which we are all oriented and which we all desire and aim at
- Aristotle aims to explore proper telos (i.e. to determined proper goal of human life) |
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Term
| main weakness of teleological ethics (Aristotle) |
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Definition
- the limit it imposes is too strong
- when the assessment of action is at issue, lacks an effective decisions-making procedure for resolving practical problems |
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Term
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Definition
- emphasizes personal qualities such as friendship, love and loyalty
- virtue ethics provides a natural and attractive account of moral motivation & considers our relationships with family and friends and doubts should we or could be impartial
- some virtues are partial and some aren't
- practical virtue of courage is the right location on a continuum of degrees of feeling fear |
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Term
| ends and the final end (Aristotle) |
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Definition
- there is one supreme end, or final good for man
- every activity aims to achieve some good or end, be it the activity itself or something produced by an activity
- in order to avoid infinite regress, there must be a final good which is desired for itself |
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Term
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Definition
- one part is specifically human and rational and divided into a part which is rational on its own and a spirited part which can understand reason
- other parts of the soul are home to desires or passions similar to those found in animals |
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Term
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Definition
- locates ethical excellence within a general category of habits or "states of character"
- Where X is an excellence, we become X only by doing X actions
- can't do just acts without already being just |
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Term
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Definition
- ethical virtue is described as a hexis (condition, state, disposition)
- a tendency of disposition, induced by our habits, to have appropriate feelings |
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Term
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Definition
| - pleasure is not the aim of every human action, because not every pleasure is good |
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Term
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Definition
- that which one uses to achieve the end/goal
- main strength of an Aristotelian approach is that it limits the means that can be chosen in pursuit of good consequences
- absolutely prohibits doing evil that good may come of it |
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Term
| doctrine of the golden mean (Aristotle) |
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Definition
- process of finding virtues between two extremes
- for every action there are two extremes which must be avoided: excess and deficiency
- what lies the proper distance between these extremes is virtue and the right way to act |
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Term
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Definition
- flourishing, happiness, excellence
- eu=good, daimonia=spirit
- the chief good
- is an activity
- most important thing in Aristotle
- comes from reason and doing things
- can achieve it if you do everything with excellence
- wouldn't stop if you die because it will be returned to generations after
- eudaimonia man still needs friends b/c needs someone to do good actions to |
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Term
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Definition
- activity of the soul in accordance with virtue
- state of actualizing or realizing a person's function
- happy life is one that provides all the necessary conditions to become fully himself
- requires possessions, but is not itself a possession
- happiness isn't simply pleasure, but a fulfillment of the human soul |
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Term
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Definition
- might like someone b/c he is good, useful or pleasant
- imperfect friendships: when one regards the other as a source of some advantage to himself or some pleasure he receives |
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Term
| self-sufficiency (Aristotle) |
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Definition
- eudaimonia
- communally self-sufficient: doesn't mean you live in isolation |
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Term
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Definition
- function, task, work
- consists in activity of the rational part of the soul in accordance with virtue
- distinguishes humans from animals = rational principle, reason |
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Term
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Definition
- virtue, excellence
- stable disposition to act involving a preference, lying in a mean relative to us, determined by discursive thought (logos), and as a man of practical wisdom would determine
- can achieve arete by rational principle
- reason can guide you toward happiness
- moral arete: aren't born with
- intellectual arete: born with |
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Term
| intellectual virtue (Aristotle and Handout 1- moral theory) |
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Definition
| - helps to coordinate the many practical virtues |
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Term
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Definition
| - not innate, but acquired by developing the habit of exercising them |
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Term
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Definition
- an intellectual virtue
- practical wisdom: capacity to act in accordance with the good of humanity |
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Term
| Aristotelian basic principle |
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Definition
- do those actions that would further one's proper development as a human being
- each person can determine through the use of reason his or her proper development as a human being
- conflicts most radically with a utilitarian approach |
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Term
| deontological theory (Kant) |
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Definition
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Term
| categorical imperative (Kant) |
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Definition
- act only on that maxim which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law
- what is essentially good in the action and the mental disposition, let the consequences be what they may
- significance: provides an objective criterion for moral rightness. tend to make exceptions when our own interests involved. helps us separate our interests
- a priori
- has moral worth |
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Term
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Definition
| - do those actions that persons behind an imaginary veil of ignorance would unanimously agree should be done |
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Term
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Definition
- not only an ethical order, but also an aesthetic order
- foundation of li and yue is goodness - ren (benevolence) |
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Term
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Definition
- process of seeking beauty
- goal of life is the beauty, can only be reached in ritual practice
- way to define is by giving examples
- means humanity or love |
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Term
| gentleman and small man (Confucius) |
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Definition
- gentleman's standard is moral principle
- small man's standard is profit |
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Term
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Definition
- promoting happiness and minimizing pain
- actions are right in the proportion as they tend to promote happiness
- all hs + all ds = total utility units (u) |
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Term
| happiness (utilitarianism) |
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Definition
- not an abstract idea, but a concrete whole
- is pleasure |
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Term
| ethical hedonism (Bentham) |
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Definition
| - pleasure should be the goal of all actions |
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Term
| hedonistic calculus (Bentham) |
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Definition
| - we can quantify pleasure and pain with units (hedons, hs; dolors, ds) |
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Term
| greatest happiness principle (Mill) |
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Definition
| - Act always to promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number (but listed as Bentham, not Mill). |
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Term
| pleasure and pain (utilitarianism) |
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Definition
- Bentham brings all the objects and goals of human desire under a single concept – pleasure
- pleasure, happiness and good are synonymous terms
- pain, unhappiness and evil are also synonymous terms. |
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Term
| quality and quantity of pleasure (Mill) |
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Definition
- there is a qualitative distinction between higher and lower pleasures
- there are two ways to evaluate a pleasure: (1) quantity: duration (total minutes pleasure lasts) and intensity (an orgasm vs. reading a book) duration x intensity = amount of pleasure (2) moral worth and utility: the worth of an action derives entirely from its resultant utility, not from its motive. |
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Term
| mental pleasure and physical pleasure (Mill) |
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Definition
| - intellectual pleasures are qualitatively better than those of the body |
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Term
| utilitarianism basic principle |
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Definition
- do those actions that maximize the net utility or satisfaction of everyone affected by them
- do our best to determine what maximizes net utility and action the result
- balance harm and benefit |
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Term
| strengths of utilitarian approach |
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Definition
- challenges us to rethink our traditional notions about moral community
- relevant utilities are determined, there is an effective decision-making procedure that can be used to resolve all practical problems
- utilitarian insistence on equality and impartiality (as well as weakness) |
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Term
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Definition
- the necessity of an action done out of respect for the law
- an action done from duty has its moral worth, not in the purpose that is to be attained by it, but in the maxim according to which the action is determined. |
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Term
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Definition
- consciousness of morality and humanity
- kind of loving and caring emotion only human has
- returning love |
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Term
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Definition
- chung-yung: the central harmony
- virtue is based upon harmony with other people, produced through this type of ethical practice by a growing identification of the interests of self and others
- articulated an early version of the Golden Rule |
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Term
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Definition
- will that acts for the sake of duty
- purely good in itself, the only thing that is unambiguously good
- not something given to us, but something that we must achieve by our own efforts
- intrinsically good, even if its efforts fail to bring about positive results |
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