ETHICS MIDTERM

• Hermeneutics


  The philosophical study of interpretation
• Virtue


  A behavior showing high moral standards or the general quality of goodness of the person
• Consequentialism


  The principle that our action has good and bad effects
• Golden Mean


  The two extremes of the spectrum that Aristotle defined to measure virtues
• Emotions


  Automatic neural responses that enter the conscious field which they find expression in the form of feelings
• A posteriori


  A principle that can only be known through human experience
• Aristotle


  Offered moral principles of conduct that would guide humans in attaining the "good life"
• Natural Law


  A portion of eternal law that God instilled into man's mind so that we can grasp it naturally
• Thomas Aquinas


  His ethical principles are biased towards Christian beliefs
• Teleology


  The ultimate goal or end of human life
• Teleology


  To come to an end
• Parochialism


  To be confined to a particular part and such part is elevated to a position of privilege
• Care Ethics


  A strand of virtue ethics that holds the idea that a moral act is centered on social and environmental relationships in which care is the main virtue
• Mistake


  A product of wrong or bad decisions and normally, these kinds of decisions are done haphazardly as dictated by upsurge of emotions
• Virtue Ethics


  An approach to ethics that emphasizes the person's character in moral thinking
• A priori


  A principle based on knowledge or concept that can be known independent of experience
• Natural Law


  The natural tendency of man to apply the principle of innate disposition to determine right from wrong
• Synderesis


  An innate disposition of the human mind by virtue that we humans are able to grasp the principles of natural law without need of inquiry
• Kantian Ethics


  The strict obedience to the categorical imperative
• Categorical Imperative


  Dictates that rational beings must treat each other as ends in themselves and never as a means to some further end
• Eudaimonism


  The belief that the ultimate goal of human life is happiness or flourishing, and virtues are those traits of character that enable a person to achieve this goal
• Arete


  Excellence or virtue. In Aristotle's ethics, it is the idea that living a virtuous life leads to human flourishing and happiness
• Golden Mean


  The concept that virtues are the middle ground between two extremes of deficiency and excess
• Phronesis


  Practical wisdom or the ability to make the right decisions in specific situations based on moral principles
• Principle of Double Effect

  1. The action itself must be morally good or neutral

  2. The agent must intend only the good effect and not the bad effect

  3. The good effect must not be achieved through the bad effect

  4. The good effect must outweigh the bad effect
• Immanuel Kant's distinction between the two-fold nature of man refers to the idea that humans have both a sensible (material) nature and a rational (immaterial) nature
• This distinction is crucial in Kantian Ethics because it emphasizes the autonomy and rationality of human beings
• According to Kant, morality is based on rational principles that are universal and apply to all rational beings
• This means that ethical decisions should be made based on reason and duty, rather than emotions or desires
• The implication of this distinction is that humans have the capacity to act according to moral laws and principles, regardless of their individual inclinations or desires
• This forms the basis of Kant's categorical imperative, which requires treating rational beings as ends in themselves and never merely as means to an end