Ethics Midterm – Flashcards
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Ethics
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the philosophical study of moral values and rules
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Normative
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How people ought to behave (morality)
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Descriptive
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How people do behave (observation)
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Divine Command Theory
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Any position in ethics which claims that the rightness or wrongness of actions depends on whether they correspond to God's commands or not.
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Sound Argument
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A valid argument in which all of the premises are true
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Justification
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the act of defending or explaining or making excuses for by reasoning
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Rationalization
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Explanation of an act that may or may not have been right, to convince yourself you were right
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Ethical Theory
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Examines the different principles, ideas, systems, and philosophies used to make judgments about what is right and wrong and good and bad. Two types of ethical theories: 1. utilitarianism 2. Kant's Moral Theory
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Motive
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cause for action
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Act
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Doing something
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Consequentialist Theory
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A theory asserting that what makes an action right is its consequences (the ends of an action)
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Non-Consequentialist Theory
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Judges an action based on the motives for doing it as opposed to the consequences that will follow this action. (All the actions leading to a ends must be just)
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Relativism
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(philosophy) the philosophical doctrine that all criteria of judgment are relative to the individuals and situations involved (takes situation into account)
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Objectivism
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a metaethical theory that states that ethical claims refer to objective facts about the world, not to cultural norms or personal preferences; there are UNIVERSAL STANDARDS of right and wrong
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Individual Relativism
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The belief that right and wrong change from person to person
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Social Relativism
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truth is relative to societies or cultures, not individuals. Truth depends on what a society believes, not on the way things are. what's true for one society may not be true for another
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Situational Differences
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Determine whether a deviation from normal should be considered based on a certain situation
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Absolutism
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No exceptions to any ethical rule, ignores situational differences (Gandhi was an absolutist against violence)
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Logic
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reasoned and reasonable judgment
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Inductive Logic
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A type of reasoning in which general principles are inferred from specific experiences (specific to general)
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Deductive Logic
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Conclusion is drawn from general observations to specific conclusion (General to Specific)
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Syllogism
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a three-part deductive argument in which a conclusion is based on a major premise and a minor premise ("All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; therefore, Socrates is mortal.")
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True
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consistent with fact or reality
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Valid
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well grounded in logic or truth or having legal force
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Logical Fallacies
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True statements are twisted to reach a false conclusion
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Formal Fallacies
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structural mistakes in reasoning
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Informal Fallacies
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occur because of rash or careless incorrect inferences or because an argument contains a premise that is untrue or weak and that goes unnoticed
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Egoism
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Theory where peoples actions are based on their own self interest
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Altruism
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the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others
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Descriptive Egoism (Psychological)
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People do what is in their best interest, whether it is right or wrong
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Normative Egoism (Individual)
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People's actions ought to be done from the perspective of self-interest. Individual: "I ought to act in my own self-interest".
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Utilitarianism
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idea that the goal of society should be to bring about the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people
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Greatest Happiness Principle
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a utilitarian concept used to measure whether an action or a thing is good; something is good if it brings pleasure or satisfaction to the largest number of people
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Instrumental Goods
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things that are considered valuable because they lead to other good things
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Intrinsic Goods
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A thing that is worthy of desire because of its nature and is not derived from other goods.
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Act Utilitarianism
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the type of utilitarianism that determines goodness of a particular act by measuring the utility for all, but only for that specific act and without regard for future actions
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Rule Utilitarianism
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the type of utilitarianism that determines the goodness of an action by measuring the utility of that action when made into a rule for behavior
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Tuskegee Syphilis Study
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1932-1972: no treatment, no information, no consent; African Americans with syphilis were untreated by USPHS because USPHS wanted to study syphilis; deceit: subjects told that the goal of the study was to help them with their "bad blood", not told that they had syphilis/how it spread; no treatment with Salvarsan or penicillin; assumed Af Am men were promiscuous so use of condoms, education unnecessary/irrelevant; few sought treatment
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Kant's Moral Theory
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Simply the right thing to do regardless the consequence, do not use people for your personal gain (or as a means to an end). "out of duty"
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Moral Worth
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Combination of good will and good motivation
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Motive
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Reasoning behind an action, good will, right reason
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The Moral Law
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There is an objective right and wrong; we should do what is right because it is right
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Hypothetical Imperative
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a principle stating the action required to attain a desired goal EX: "If I want to get there on time, I ought to leave early."
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Categorical Imperative
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denotes an absolute, unconditional requirement that asserts its authority in all circumstances
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Maxim
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actions or policy that will be put to the test (rule you should follow)
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Natural Law Theory
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A theory asserting that the morally right action is the one that follows the dictates of nature.
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Prudential Choice
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Aristotle: Humans are the only beings that have free will, we can choose what we are doing, ethical humans make correct choices
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Natural Rights Theory
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Defines whats right and wrong based on human action
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Virtue Ethics
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Aristotle: not too much of a quality, not too little; everything in moderation
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Happiness
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emotions experienced when in a state of well-being
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Potentiality
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the amount of potential that one has
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Actualization
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fulfilling potential, mastering the habits of living a good life Ex: An acorn is actualized when it becomes a tree.
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Euthanasia
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the act of killing someone painlessly (especially someone suffering from an incurable illness) killing someone for their best interest
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Active Euthanasia
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the deliberate ending of life by administration of drugs
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Passive Euthanasia
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the deliberate ending of life by withholding drugs or treatment
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Physician Assisted Suicide
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Doctor assists in the killing of a patient
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Principle of Double Effect
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Criteria used for evaluating the permissibility of acting on ones legitimate act (relieving pain) but will cause death
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Extraordinary Measures
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Actions taken in and out of ordinary situation
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Voluntary Euthanasia
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Consented administration of drugs to cause death
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Involuntary Euthanasia
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Unconsented administration of death
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Roe v. Wade
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(1973) legalized abortion on the basis of a woman's right to privacy
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Right to Privacy
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right to be free of unsanctioned intrusion
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Potential Life
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under the right conditions, could become living
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Viability
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5th month of development, fetus compatible of living apart from mother
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Equality
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a state of being essentially equal or equivalent
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Affirmative Action
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a policy designed to redress past discrimination against women and minority groups through measures to improve their economic and educational opportunities
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Sexual Harassment
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unwanted sexual attention, often from someone in power, that makes the victim feel uncomfortable or threatened
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Discrimination
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unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice
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Average Differences
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Standard differences between average members of populations
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Stereotype
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a generalized (sometimes accurate but often overgeneralized) belief about a group of people
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Sex Differences
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Different treatment of genders
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Compensation
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the act of compensating for service or loss or injury
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Preference
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a predisposition in favor of something
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Qualification
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characteristics that merit ones personality
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Disadvantage
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the quality of having an inferior or less favorable position
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Quota
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a prescribed number
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Goals
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things you want to accomplish
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Merit
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any admirable quality or attribute
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Prejudice
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a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation
