ETHICS: 04 HANDOUT

• Meta-Ethics


  - It is the branch of ethics that studies the nature of morality.

  - As such, it talks about the meaning, reference, and truth values of moral judgments.

  - It also explains what goodness and wickedness mean and how we know about them.
• Meta-ethics deals with questions like the these:

  - Are there objective moral truths?

  - What do the words 'good,' 'bad,' 'right' and 'wrong' mean?

  - Are moral judgments a matter of subjective personal feeling?

  - If we say "Slavery is wrong," are we just claiming our customs or are we making an objective declaration that is true regardless of what anybody may think?

  - How can we know if something is right or wrong?

  - How may ethical propositions be supported or defended?
• Cognitivism


  - It states that moral judgments convey propositions.

  - They are 'truth bearers,' or they are either true or false.

  - Most ethical theories are cognitivist as they contend that right and wrong are matters of fact.
• Moral realism

  - It claims that the existence of moral facts and the truth (or falsity) of moral judgments are independent of people's thoughts and perceptions.

  - It maintains that morality is about objective facts, that is, not facts about any person or group's subjective judgment.
• Ethical subjectivism

  - It holds that the truth (or falsity) of ethical propositions are dependent on the attitudes or standards of a person or group of persons.

  - It is obviously contrary to moral realism.
• Non-cognitivism


  - It denies that moral judgments are either true or false.

  - It claims that ethical sentences do not convey authentic propositions, hence are neither true nor false.
• Emotivism


  - It is the most popular form of non-cognitivist theory.

  - It submits that moral judgments are mere expressions of our emotions and feelings.

  - Like exclamatory sentences, ethical sentences cannot be said to be either true or false according to the theory
• Moral universalism


  - It theorizes that moral facts and principles apply to everybody in all places.

  - Also called 'moral objectivism,' it claims that a universal ethic exists and that this applies to all similarly situated persons, regardless of nationality, citizenship, culture, race, gender, sexual preference, religion, or any other differentiating factor.

  - Believing that some behaviors are simply wrong, it also submits that if something is right for one, then it is right for another.

  - It is very much compatible with 'moral realism.
• Moral relativism


  - It submits that different moral facts and principles apply to different persons or group of individuals.

  - Believing that various cultures have distinct standards of right and wrong, it also maintains that ethical standards also change over time even in the same culture.

  - Denying a single, objective standard for morality, it holds that all moral norms are equally true and morals are mere preferences.

  - It is very much compatible with 'ethical subjectivism.
• Moral empiricism


  - It is a meta-ethical stance which states that moral facts are known through observation and experience.

  - The theory is an extension of 'empiricism' in epistemology which states that all knowledge of matters of fact is derived from experience and that our mind is not equipped with pre-experience concepts.

  - Some forms of this theory hold that moral truths are reducible to matters about people's opinions or cultural conventions and thus are recognizable by observation of their conventions.
• Moral rationalism


  - It contends that moral facts and principles are knowable a priori, that is, by reason alone and without reference to experience.

  - In general, the theory relies on reason rather than intuition in justifying a belief or action.
• Rationalism


  - In epistemology, this claims that knowledge about reality is gained through a non- empirical deductive system, most forms of this theory purport that moral facts are known through a rational inferential process
• Moral intuitionism


  - It submits that moral truths are knowable by intuition, that is, by immediate, instinctive knowledge without reference to any evidence.

  - This theory claims that we have an intuitive awareness of value or morality and that it defines the basis of our ethical knowledge.

  - It thus insists that the moral value of actions may be known intuitively, even if their consequences have not been uncovered.
• Normative ethics


  - It is the branch of ethics that studies how man ought to act, morally speaking.

  - As the name suggests, it examines ethical norms, that is, those guidelines about what is right, worthwhile, virtuous, or just.

  - This branch evaluates standards for the rightness and wrongness of actions and determines a moral course of action.

  - Prescriptive in nature, it addresses specific moral questions about what we should do or believe: We do normative ethics.
• Deontology


  - It is an ethical system that bases morality on independent moral rules or duties.

  - This system equates behaving morally with adherence to duties or moral rules and acting immorally with failure to obey them.

  - Also called non-consequentialism, the system's principles are submitted as obligatory, regardless of the consequences that actions might produce.
• Dean


  The Greek word which means 'duty,' implying the foundational nature of man's duties or obligations.
• Teleology


  - It refers to a moral system that determines the moral value of actions by their outcomes or results.

  - It takes into account the result of the action as the exclusive consideration of its morality.

  - It deems an action as morally right if its favorable consequences are greater than its adverse outcomes.
• Telos


  - The Greek word which means 'end
• Consequentialism


  - The most famous form of Teleology.

  - It proposes that morality is determined solely by a cost-benefit evaluation of the action's consequences.
• Virtue ethics (classification)


  - As a moral system, it emphasizes developing good habits of character, like kindness and generosity, and avoiding bad character traits, or vices, such as greed or hatred.

  - This describes right actions as those chosen and performed by a suitably virtuous person by focusing on the character of the agent.
• Virtue-based theories


  - It gives importance to moral education which molds individuals to habitually act in a virtuous manner.
• Applied Ethics


  - It philosophically examines specific, controversial moral issues.
• Philosophical Methods


  - Applied Ethics attempts to determine the ethically correct course of action in specific realms of human action using this method.
• controversial


  For a subject to be considered as an applied ethical issue, not only must it be a matter of moral judgment, but also it has to be _______________.
• Bioethics


  - This concerns with ethical issues about life, biomedical researches, medicines, health care, and the medical profession.

  - As such, it deals with controversies like those about surrogate mothering, genetic manipulation of fetuses, stem cell research, using human embryos in research, in-vitro fertilization, abortion, euthanasia, suicide, patient rights, confidentiality of patients' records, physician's responsibilities, and mandatory medical screening.
• Environmental ethics


  - It deals with moral issues concerning nature, ecosystem, and its nonhuman contents.

  - This includes issues such as animal rights, animal experimentation, endangered species preservation, pollution control, and sustainable development.
• Business ethics.


  - It examines moral principles concerning the business environment, which involves issues about corporate practices, policies, business behaviors, and the conducts and relationships of individuals in the organizations.

  - It investigates ethical controversies such as those about the social responsibility of businesses, employee rights, harassment, labor unions, misleading advertising, job discrimination, and whistleblowing.
• Sexual ethics


  - It studies moral issues about sexuality and human sexual behavior.

  - It examines topics like homosexuality, lesbianism, polygamy, pre-marital sex, marital fidelity, extra-marital sex, non-marital procreation, loveless sexual relations, safe sex, and contraceptive use.
• Social ethics


  - It deals with what is right for a society to do and how it should act as a whole.

  - Its focus is on what may be deemed as proper behavior for people as a whole.

  - Some of the issues under this are those about racial discrimination, death penalty, nuclear weapon production, gun control, drug use for fun, and welfare rights.
• Virtue Ethics


  - It is a moral philosophy that teaches that an action is right if it is an action that a virtuous person would perform in the same situations.

  - According to the theory, a virtuous person is someone who acts virtuously and people act virtuously if they possess and live the virtues.

  It puts emphasis on developing good habits of character and avoiding bad character traits or vices.

  - It focuses on the character of the agent and describes right actions as those chosen and performed by a suitably virtuous person.
• Virtue


  - It is a moral characteristic that an individual need to live well.
• Virtue ethicists


  - They hold that people live their lives trying to develop their faculties to the fullest extent.
• Eudemian and Nichomachean


  - It is two of Aristotle's works which specifically concern morality.
• Nichomachean Ethics


  - Aristotle's work which has been regarded as the Ethics of Aristotle since the beginning of the Christian era.
• Three


  - Number of interrelated general descriptions used to depict Aristotle's ethics.
• Self-realizationism


  - First, his ethical system may be termed as this.

  - In his philosophy, when someone acts in line with his nature or end ('telos') and thus realizes his full potential, he does moral and will be happy.
• Eudaimonistic


  - It focuses on happiness, or the good for man, and how to obtain it.
• Aretoic


  - Virtue-based.

  - Whereas act-oriented ethics is focused mainly on what we should do, a virtue ethics is interested basically in what we should be, that is, the character or the sort of person we should struggle to become.
• Aristotle's Telos.


  - A "telos" is an end or purpose.

  - Aristotle believed that the essence or essential nature of beings, including humans, lay not at their cause (or beginning) but at their end ("telos").
• Happiness and Virtues.


  - Aristotle believed that the ultimate human goal is self-realization.

  - This entails achieving one's natural purpose by functioning or living consistently with human nature.

  - Accomplishing it, in turn, produces happiness; whereas inability to realize it leads to sadness, frustration, and ultimately to poor life. It therefore behooves us to act in accordance with our nature to be content and complete.