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Ethics Vocab Words
Comprehensive Ethics vocab words
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Absolutism | the objective principles are rigid rules that have no exceptions. |
| Act-egoism | says that to determine right action, you must apply the egoistic principle to individual acts. It promotes your self interest (Act A is preferable to act B because…) |
| Act-utilitarianism | the right actions are those that directly produce the greatest overall good, everyone considered. The consequences that flow directly from a particular act are all that matter; rules are irrelevant in good vs evil Breaking a promise may be right and wrong |
| Applied ethics | (3rd major division of ethics) – the application of moral norms to specific moral issues or cases, particularly those in a profession such as medicine or law |
| Categorical Imperative | we should do something in all situations regardless of our wants and needs. “Do not kill” type of stuff. Universal. Act only on the maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. Kant. |
| Consequentialist | what makes an action right is its consequences. Specifically the rightness of an action depends on the amount of good it produces. |
| Considered moral judgments | they are formed after careful deliberation that is as free of bias as possible. Sometimes limited and rely on moral theories to help. |
| Cultural relativism | the view that an action is morally right if one’s culture approves it. |
| Descriptive Ethics | the scientific study of moral beliefs and practices. |
| Divine command theory | right actions are those willed by God, that God literally defines right and wrong. |
| Dominance on moral norms | moral norms outweigh other norms |
| Epistemology | the study of knowledge |
| Ethical egoism | 2 forms of this are act and rule… says that the morally right action is the one that produces the most favorable balance of good over evil for oneself. in every situation the right action is the one that advances one’s own best interests. |
| Ethics or Moral Philosophy | philosophical study of morality |
| Ethics of care | perspective on moral issues that emphasizes close personal relationships and virtues such as compassion love and sympathy It contrasts dramatically with traditional moral theories that are preoccupied with principles, rules, and legalistic moral reasoning |
| Eudaimonia | the greatest good. Means happiness and flourishing, refers to the full realization of the good life. Fulfilling virtue ethics will bring this feeling about |
| Greatest happiness principle | the principle that holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as the tend to produce the reverse of happiness. |
| Golden mean | a balance between two behavior extremes. Ex. Courage is midpoint between excess of courage and deficit of courage. Life of moderation. |
| Hypothetical imperative | what we should do if we have certain desires. Only obey the imperative if we desire the outcome specified. |
| Imperfect duties | not always to be followed ; they do have exceptions. Duties to develop your talents and to help others in need |
| Instrumentally or Extrinsically valuable | values as a means to something else |
| Intrinsically valuable | they are valuable within themselves |
| Kant’s theory | the view that the morally right action is the one done in accordance with the categorical imperative |
| Logic | the study of correct reasoning |
| Means end principle | always treat people (including ourselves) as ends in themselves, as creatures of great intrinsic worth, never merely as things of instrumental value, never merely as tools to be used for someone else’s purpose. |
| Meta-ethics | (2nd major division of ethics) – the study of the meaning and logical structure of moral beliefs |
| Metaphysics | the study of the fundamental nature of reality |
| Moral code | simply a set of rules. Much less useful than moral theories. They conflict supposedly |
| Moral objectivism | the doctrine that some moral norms or principles are valid for everyone – universal, in other words – regardless of how cultures may differ in their moral outlooks. |
| Moral philosophy | ethics is a branch of philosophy |
| Moral theory | an explanation of what makes an action right or what makes a person or thing good. |
| Morality | refers to beliefs concerning right and wrong, good and bad – beliefs that could include judgments, values, rules, principles and theories |
| Morally infallible | we cannot do wrong |
| Natural law theory | the morally right action is the one that follows the dictates of nature. |
| Nonconsequentialist | (Deontological)– the rightness of an action does not depend entirely on its consequences. It depends primarily, or completely, on the nature of the action itself. |
| Non-moral | the object does not hold moral (right or wrong) value |
| Norm | at the heart of of religious ethics |
| Normative Ethics | (1st major division of ethics) – the study of principles rules, or theories that guide our actions and judgments. Normative referring to norms or standards. |
| Obligation | duty or what we should or ought to do |
| Perfect Duties | those that absolutely must be followed without fail… not to break a promise, not to commit suicide, not to lie |
| Preeminence of Reason | critical reasoning |
| Principle of Impartiality | everyone equal… the welfare and interests of each individual should be given the same weight as all others |
| Principle of Universalizability | the idea that a moral statement (a principle, rule or judgment) that applies in one situation must apply in all other situations that are relevantly similar |
| principle of utility | that principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency which it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in questions |
| Psychological egoism | the view that the motive for all our actions is self-interest. Promote our welfare |
| Reflective Equilibrium | the ultimate goal in this give and take of theory and judgment (or principle) is a kind of close coherence between the two |
| Rule egoism | says that to determine right action, you must see if an act falls under a rule that if consistently followed would maximize your self-interest. |
| Rule utilitarianism | the morally right action is the one covered by a rule that if generally followed would produce the most favorable balance of good over evil, everyone considered |
| Subjective relativism | the view that an action is morally right if one approves of it. Relative to individuals |
| Theories of obligation | Moral theories concerned with the rightness or wrongness of actions |
| Theories of value | moral theories concerned with the goodness of persons or things |
| Utilitarian principle | (principle of utility or greatest happiness principle) – each set of circumstances calling for a moral choice is unique, requiring a new calculation of the varying consequences of possible action |
| Utilitarianism | says that the morally right action is the one that produces the most favorable balance of good and evil, everyone considered. The right action maximizes the good. |
| Values | (moral and non-moral) – things that are right or wrong to us |
| Virtue | stable disposition to act and feel according to some ideal or model of excellence. It is a deeply imbedded character trait that can affect actions in countless situations. – wisdom, prudence, rationality |
| Virtue ethics | theory of morality that makes virtue the central concern. Virtue Ethics says, “What should I be?” something that emanates from a person’s moral virtues from his or her moral character not from obedience of laws |
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matudavis