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ethics (or moral philisophy)

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the philosophical study of morality

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morality

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belifs concerning right and wrong, good and bad; they can include judgments, rules, principles, and theories

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descriptive ethics

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the scientific study of moral beliefs and practices

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normative ethics

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the study of the principles, rules, or theories that guide our actions and judgments

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metaethics

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the study of the meaning and logical structure of moral beliefs

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applied ethics

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the application of moral norms to specific moral issues or cases, particularly those in a profession such as medicine or law

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instrumentally (or extrinsically) valuable

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valuable as a means to something else

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intrinsically valuable

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valuable in itself, for its own sake

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principle of universalizability

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the idea that a moral statement (principle, rule, or judgment) that applies in one situation must apply in all other situations that are relevantly similar

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principle of impartiality

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the welfare and interests of each individual should be given the same weight as all others

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Euthyphro's definition of piety

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"piety is that which is dear to the gods, and impiety is that which is not dear to them"

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objectivism

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the view that some moral principles are valid for everyone

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cultural relativism

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the view that an action is morally right if one's culture approves of it. implications: that cultures are morally infallible, that social reformers can never be morally right, that moral disagreements between individuals in the same culture amount to arguments over whether someone disagrees with her culture, that other cultures cannot be legitimately criticized, and that moral progress is impossible

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subjective relativism

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the view that an action is morally right if one approves of it. implications: that individuals are morally infallible and that genuine moral disagreement between individuals is nearly impossible

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emotivism

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the view that moral utterances are neither true nor false but are expressions of emotions or attitudes. implications: that people cannot disagree over the moral facts because there are no moral facts, that presenting reasons in support of a moral utterance is a matter of offering nonmoral facts that can influence someone's attitude, and that nothing is actually good or bad

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cognitivism

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the commonsense view of moral judgments is that they ascribe moral properties to such things as actions and people and that they are therefore statements that can be true or false

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noncognitivism

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denies that moral judgments are statements that can be true or false; they do no ascribe properties to anything (ie emotivism)

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statement

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an assertion that something is or is not the case

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premise

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a supporting statement in an argument

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conclusion

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the statement supported in an argument

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deductive argument

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an argument that is supposed to give logically conclusive support to its conclusion

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inductive argument

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an argument that is supposed to offer probable support to its conclusion

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valid argument

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a deductive argument that does in fact provide logically conclusive support for its conclusion

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invalid argument

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a deductive argument that does not offer logically conclusive support for the conclusion

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moral theory

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an explanation of what makes an action right or what makes a person or thing good

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consequentialist theory

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a theory asserting that what makes an action right is its consequences

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nonconsequentialist theory

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a theory asserting that the rightness of an action does not depend on its consequence

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utilitariansim

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a theory asserting that the morally right action is the one that produces the most favorable balance of good over evil, everyone considered

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ethical egoism

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a theory asserting that the morally right action is the one that produces the most favorable balance of good over evil for oneself

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categorical imperative

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an imperative that we should follow regardless of our particular wants and needs; also, the principle that defines Kant's ethical system

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Kant's theory

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a theory asserting that the morally right action is the one done in accordance with the categorical imperative

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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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divine command theory

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a theory asserting that the morally right action is the one that God commands

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theories of value

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moral theories concerned with the goodness of persons or things

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theories of obligation

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moral theories concerned with the rightness or wrongness of actions

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act-egoism

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the theory that to determine right action, you must apply the egoistic principle to individual acts

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rule-egoism

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the theory that to determine right action, you must see if an act falls under a rule that if consistently followed would maximize your self-interest

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psychological egoism

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the view that the motive for all our actions is self-interest

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principle of utility

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Bentham's definition: "that principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency which it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in question."

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greatest happiness principle

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Mill's definition: the principle that "holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness."

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act-utilitarianism

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the theory that right actions are those that directly produce the greatest overall good, everyone considered

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rule-utilitariansim

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the theory that the morally right action is the one covered by a rule that if generally followed would produce the most favorable balance of good over evil, everyone considered

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hedonic calculus

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quantifies happiness and handles the necessary calculations for act-utilitarianism

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hypothetical imperative

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an imperative that tells us what we should do if we have certain desires

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categorical imperative

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an imperative that we should follow regardless of our particular wants and needs; also, the principle that defines Kant's ethical system

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means-ends principle

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the rule that we must always treat people (including ourselves) as ends in themselves, never merely as a means

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doctrine of double effect

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the principle that performing a good action may be permissible even if it has bad effects, but performing a bad action for the purpose of achieving good effects is never permissable; any bad effects must be unintended

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virtue ethics

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a theory of morality that makes virtue the central concern

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eudaimonia

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happiness, or flourishing

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virtue

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a stable disposition to act and feel according to some ideal or model of excellence

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golden mean

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Aristotle's notion of a virtue as a balance between two behavioral extremes

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ethics of care

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a perspective on moral issues that emphasizes close personal relationships and moral virtues such as compassionn, love, and sympathy

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abortion

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the deliberate termination of a pregnancy by surgical or medical (with drugs) means

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therapeutic abortion

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an abortion performed to protect the life or health of the mother

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conception

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the merging of a sperm cell and an ovum into a single cell; also called fertilization

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quickening

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the point in fetal development when the mother can feel the fetus moving (it occurs at about sixteen to twenty weeks)

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viability

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the stage of fetal development at which the fetus is able to survive outside the uterus

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person

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a being thought to have full moral rights

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genome

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an organism's complete set of DNA

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gene

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a discrete section of genetic code

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chromosome

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one of forty-six molecules containing genes and residing in the cell's nucleus

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gene therapy

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an experimental technique for directly changing a person's genes to prevent or treat disease

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genetic enhancement

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genetic intervention to make people better than normal, to maximize human traits and capabilities

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genetic engineering

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direct genetic intervention in an organism's genome to enhance traits and capabilities

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cloning

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the production of a genetically identical copy of an existing biological entity through an asexual process

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reproductive cloning

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the genetic duplication of a fully developed adult animal or human

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