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WGU Ethics Terms
EARLY HISTORY OF ETHICS
Question | Answer |
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Ethics | The study of the moral values and conduct of an individual, group, or culture. Sometimes referred to as 'moral philosophy'. |
Morality | The right or wrong of an action, a decision, or a way of living. |
Conscientious Moral Agent | A role that requires impartiality; the ability to put aside one's self interest and personal biases while considering a problem. |
Epic of Gilgamesh | A long poem from ancient Mesopotamia that recounts legends and myths about the hero-king Gilgamesh. The ethic that emerges from the story is work ethic. One fulfills one’s destiny through service and fidelity to whatsoever becomes one’s responsibility.” |
Code of Hammurabi | One of the earliest legal codes; it was established Babylonian king, Hammurabi. The Code set standards of behavior and listed crimes and their various punishments. |
Egyptian Book of the Dead | An early Egyptian text that described the proper conduct needed for a happy afterlife. |
The Hebrew Torah | The first 5 books of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). Considered the inspired word of God, revealed to Moses. A guide for a relationship with God, an ethical system consisting of the Ten Commandments, other rules, traditions & teachings. |
Epicureanism | A school of philosophy that sees achieving pleasure and peace of mind as the greatest good. |
Virtue Ethics | An ethical approach that stresses moral character in contrast to moral actions. |
Philosopher Kings | The hypothetical rulers of Plato's ideal city-state |
The Forms | The essences of various of various objects or things (in Platonic thought). |
Skepticism | A school of philosophy that questions the certainty of human knowledge and calls for continued inquiry after truth. |
Socratic Philosophy | A belief that knowledge is virtue and morality is the matter of true knowledge. |
The Golden Mean | The desirable middle ethical course between two extremes. |
Stoicism | The school of philosophy that advocates control of one's passions and acceptance of one's destiny. |
Mesopotamia | The cradle of civilization. The origins of philosophy can be traced back to early Mesopotamian wisdom. Philosophy = ethics, in the forms of dialectic, dialogs, epic poetry, folklore, hymns, lyrics, prose works, & proverbs. Used reasoning and rationality. |
Hero Stories | Narrative of early society in written form which encapsulated moral instruction, including basic rights and wrongs. |
Thales | Early Greek philosopher. Questioned existence. Believed that verything that existed is "caused" by water, which allowed him to form the idea "that Many are related by the One." |
Democritus | Early Greek philosopher. His (and Leucippus') idea was that objects change but the particles (atoms) that make up objects remain the same; these atoms cannot be destroyed and are eternal. |
Socrates | Knowledge and virtue are one.Justice cannot mean harming others.Evil, vice are based on ignorance.Striving for good is the condition of all humans.The soul is a person's conscious personality. |
Socratic Method | Named after the classical Greek philosopher Socrates, is a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas. |
Right Action | Socrates posited that people will naturally do what is good, if they know what is right. Evil or bad actions, are the result of ignorance. |
Plato | Plato's philosophy= theories of Knowledge, Moral & Political Philosophy.Defined knowledge as something we recognize thru discussion & thinking; knowledge & discussion are necessary because we don't see the world clearly on our own; education is necessary. |
Allegory of the Cave | Plato-most people can't see the world as it is. We only see the shadows of the world, images & shapes that aren't really the world at all (cave wall). People in the cave live in brutal, cruel circumstances; this is Plato's belief of a life w/o knowledge. |
Aristotle | Known for his work in logic, metaphysics, psychology and biology, as well as ethics. As the inventor of formal logic, he based his system on the syllogism (if one thing is true then the other thing must be true). |
Epicurus | Philosophy = Epicureanism. Greatest good from peace of mind (ataraxia) & pleasure (no bodily pain)-found in knwldg, frndshp,living a virtuous life. Since atoms make up existence, ppl should control lives w/o fear of God/death. No call for social duty. |
Virtue Ethics | The inner self is the moral line of demarcation. |
The Cardinal Virtues | ? |