.Ethics

• ethics


  moral philosophy that aims to determine the meaning of right and wrong
• ethical


  dealing with behaviour that is deemed morally right or wrong
• AJ Ayer


  1910-1989

  British philosopher known for his promotion of logical posivitism
• Bradley


  1846-1924

  british idealist philosopher, strongly influenced by Hegel.

  in his 'Ethical Studies' chapter 5, (my station and its duties), he attempts to develop Kants ethics and naturalistic theories
• emotivism 


  aka ethical non-cognivitism

  • ethical theory which argues that ethical decisions are expressions of feeling and emotion rather than meaningful, rational argument
• ethical egoism


  normative theory which claims moral agents should do what is in their own self-interest. therefore, an action is morally right if it maximises ones self-interest.
• Hume's Law


  aka Hume's guillotine

  • Hume argued there was a significant difference between descriptive statements (what is) and prescriptive statements (what one ought to do).
  • i.e 'you cannot derive what should be done from what is the case'.
  • Hume stated that ‘ought, or ought not, expresses some new relation’ that cannot be deduced from ‘observations concerning human affairs’ because they involve ‘entirely different’ lines of reasoning.
• intuitionism 


  aka ethical non-naturalism

  the view that intuition gives moral agents an awareness of morality. therefore intuitive knowledge forms the foundation of ethical knowledge.
• meta ethics


  a form of ethics concerned with the meaning of ethical terms
• naturalism 


  the ethical position that objective moral principles can be derived from empirical, naturalistic facts.
• naturalistic fallacy


  argument associated with G.E Moore that states that ethical terms are not analysable and that moral facts cannot be reduced to natural properties
• open question argument

  • Moore’s argument to demonstrate that the Naturalistic Fallacy is true
  • i.e. that terms like 'good’ are incapable of being defined in terms of some natural quality because any attempt to do allows the possibility of an open question.
• Prichard


  1871-1947

  british philosopher strongly associated with analytic philosophy and the development of intuitionism
• Deontological ethics

  duty based ethics that uses rules to distinguish right from wrong
• basic human goods


  deontological ethics

  finnis' Natural law identifies 7 basic goods as the basis for morality

  • life
  • knowledge
  • friendship
  • play
  • aesthetic experience
  • practical reasonableness
  • religion
• capital punishment


  deontological ethics

  the legally authorised killing of someone as punishment for a crime
• evil moral act


  deontological ethics

  an act that breaks religious rules and therefore is wrong or immoral
• first moral Principle - Finnis 


  deontological ethics

  the idea that we act for the common good of the community as a whole not just as an individual. such whole community action requires coordination, however this requires authority ( but not necessarily coercive authority)
• good act


  deontological ethics

  act the follows a moral rule
• immigration


  deontological ethics

  action of migrating to another country, usually for permenant residence
• natural law 


  deontological ethics

  • theory based on the concept of a final cause or purpose which determines everything's natural use or goal
  • a body of universal moral truths identified through reason and experience
  • a view associated with Aristotle and developed by aquinas
• pre-moral evil


  aka ontic evil

  deontological ethics

  • the lack of perfection at which we aim, and lack of fulfilment which frustrates our natural urges and makes us suffer.
  • all our concrete actions involve ontic evils and this is unavoidable given our common sin-filled situation.
  • ontic evil includes natural disasters, that are a result of living in a fallen world, as well as the unintended evil that besets us in any decision we make.
• proportionalism

  • deontological ethics
  • a 20th century development of natural law by Bernard Hoose
  • centred around the debate about proportionate reasons as identified by Aquinas, in what has been called the principle of double effect
• 9 requirements of practical reason

  deontological ethics

  • to achieve finnis' seven basic human goods, he developed the nine principles of practical reasonableness , they create the optimum conditions to attain the basic goods.
  • view your life as a whole
  • no arbitrary preference amongst values (goods)
  • basic goods apply equally to all
  • do not become obsessed with a particular project
  • use effort to improve
  • plan for your actions to do the most good
  • never harm a basic good
  • foster common good in the community
  • act in your own conscience and authority
• right act


  deontological ethics

  an act that is not necessarily good act but creates the lesser of two evils
• theoretical / practical reason


  deontological ethics

  • theoretical reason - speculative reasoning and concerns factual and descriptive matters
  • practical reasoning - specific form of reasoning that is used to determine what 'ought' to be done

  Hume and Finnis agree that ethics cannot be derived from theoretical reasoning
• atonement 


  deontological ethics

  the reconciliation of god and humanity through the crucifixion and resurrection of christ
• compatibalist


  determinsim

  a person who believes that the concepts of free will and determinism that salvation was the province of god's sovereignty; thus promoting the idea of predestination
• determinism


  the proposition that suggests all events are necessarily the effect of

  a previous causes.

  • Hard determinism - all actions are caused and therefore determined, meaning there is no such thing as a ‘free’ choice.
  • Soft determinism - the belief that acts can have an element of free will within causally determined parameters

  i.e. Ayer in particular argued that not all choices are ‘compelled’. (Some compatibilists take this view)
• doctrine of election


  determinism

  predestination theory developed by calvin

  doctrine that the salvation of a man depends upon the election of God.

  predestination is God's unchangeable command that from before creation of the world he would save some people (the elect) giving them eternal life, while the others (the reprobates) would be sentenced to eternal damnation
• doctrine of original sin


  determinism

  theological view developed by Augustine based o the idea that humanity's state of sin is a direct consequence inherited form the fall of Adam and Eve
• elect


  determinism

  those chosen by god, before he created the world, to recieve salvation and eternal life
• irresistible grace


  determinism

  the elect cannot resist the calling of god
• limited atonement


  determinism

  Christs death and atonement for our sins was for the elect only
• miracle


  determinism

  an act on wonder

  variously defined including a violation of the laws of nature (Hume) and an unusual and striking event that evokes and mediates a vivid awareness of God (Hick)
• normative ethics


  determinism

  exploration and discussion of whether or not general principles and rules exist which can determine ethical attitudes and behaviour
• original sin


  determinism

  humanity's state if sun resulting from the fall of man

  said to result from the time when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit of a particular tree in the garden of eden.

  this first sin = the original sin, an action of the first human beings can be saved only by god's grace
• perseverance of the elect 


  determinism

  the elect cannot commit apostasy (give up their faith) - the Holy Spirit ensures this
• philosophical determinism


  theory that suggests all events are necessarily the effect of antecedent causes, therefore the universe and all phenomena can be explained because every even is necessitated by antecedent events and conditions together with the laws of nature
• prayer


  determinism

  a devout petition to god or an object of worship