AQA A-Level Philosophy - Ethics

• The maxim itself is not contradictory when universalised, but it is still not something we would want to happen


  What is contradiction in the will
• If everybody made false promises then no one would make real promises

  What is an example of contradiction in conception
• If everybody acted on a maxim then it would be contradictory


  What is contradiction in conception
• Acting out of duty


  What does it mean to follow the good will
• The Good Will


  What should we use our autonomy to follow according to Kant
• We have autonomy


  According to Kant, why should we follow the good will
• An antecedent


  What are Kant's maxims lacking
• He uses reason to work out if a maxim is right or wrong and it is logically possible to deny the maxims

  Why are Kant's ethics synthetic a priori
• Synthetic a prori


  What types of statements are made through Kant's ethics
• The afterlife reward


  What is summum bonum
• Summum bonum


  What did Kant believe you would achieve if you followed your duty
• Prescriptive ethics


  What is Kant's theory based on
• Where did Kant believe knowledge came from?

  The mind - he was a rationalist
• act as if everybody has to follow the law that you are making so make sure that it is right - is it a morally correct law?

  What is act as if you are the law maker (formulation three of the categorical imperative)
• Do not manipulate people or act to gain a possible consequence


  What is treat all people as ends in themselves (formulation two of the categorical imperative)
• If everyone in the world would do the same action would it be right?

  What is universability (formulation one of the categorical imperative)
• Universability/treat all humans as ends in themselves/act as if you are the law maker


  The three formulations of the categorical imperative
• After experience

  A priori
• Before experience, innate knowledge


  A priori
• Can be false and logically contradicted

  Synthetic truth
• Cannot be false, would be contradictory to deny

  Analytic truth
• An imperative which decides your duty and is good or bad in its own right

  Categorical imperative
• Duty, concerned with motive

  Deontolical
• Imagine there is a machine able to give you any experience you would like for the rest of your life - you can enter this machine and live the rest of your life happy, believing that you're experiencing reality, or you can actually live in reality being sometimes happy and sometimes not l. Most people would choose to stay in reality despite the allure of option A. Instead of this we should act according to our preferences

  What is Nozick's experience machine
• Act and rule


  What is Nozick's experience machine a criticism of
• It seems selfish and short sighted


  What is the criticism of prior existence utilitarianism
• We should only think of people alive right now

  What is prior existence utilitarianism
• How many future generations should we consider?

  What is the criticism of total utilitarianism
• When calculating happiness we should take into account the happiness of future people and animals, particularly disabled babies

  What is total utilitarianism
• Once preference fails to work you must revert to rule and one rule fails you must revert to act

  What is the major flaw with utilitarianism
• Apply rule preference for a solution


  Criticism of preference - the weighing up of preferences; how do we measure which preference has the most value
• Fulfilling preferences is correct, even if the person is dead


  Criticism of preference - what do we do about preferences from afar? For example, fulfilling a death bed wish
• Seek to fulfil true purposes

  Criticism of preference - what about bad/crazy preferences or a preference that would lead someone to short term happiness
• Imagine yourself as an impartial spectator/weigh up what each person would rationally prefer/what is right is what fits with the best interests of all involved

  How does preference utilitarianism work
• Minorities accounted for/everybody's preferences are equal in value/asks what people would rationally prefer to happen in any given situation/decides what is in the best interests of all involved/concentrates on minimising suffering as there is greater agreement on what causes pain as opposed to pleasure


  What are the five key principles of preference utilitarianism
• The minority, including animals so eliminating speciesism

  What did Singer want to take into account
• Singer


  Who extended preference utilitarianism
• Minimising pain, not on maximising happiness


  What does preference utilitarianism focus on
• To carry out an action which makes someone happy if it was not their preference or something they desired

  What would be wrong according to preference utilitarianism
• An action should be judged by the extent to which it conforms to the preferences of all those affected by the action


  What does preference utilitarianism suggest