Question | Answer |
Slippery slope defense | a situation where a ruling absolving Mr. Latimer could be used for the wrong reasons- in this case, would other handicapped people be subject to the decision Mr. Latimer made about his daughter's life? |
Emiricism | is a philosophical doctrine that says all knowledge is derived from our
senses. British thinker John Locke (1632-1704) refuted the concept of "innate ideas" and
insisted that all human knowledge was of empiric origin.. |
John Locke basic philosophical theory | - The scope of our knowledge is limited by our perceptions and our reason
- Ideas do not have reality |
David Hume basic philosophical theory | - Brings empiricism to its purest form
- Impressions are necessary to ideas
- All ideas are associated with each other
- Our thinking cannot extend beyond our immediate senses |
Utilitarianism | is the ethical theory constructed around the reasoning that the greatest
good for the greatest number is the only criterion for creating morality. It is considered a
consequentialist moral philosophy.Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart
Mill. |
Consequentialist moral philosophy | (ethics based on acting in whatever way results in
the best consequences). |
Jeremy Bentham | |
Social Contract theory | is based on the idea of people giving up some of their natural
rights to a government in exchange for social order. |
Thomas Hobbes | Work was Social Contract theory |
Stregnth and weaknesses of Social contract theory? | (s)Allows people to live together in a moral world of limited altruism |
Stregnth and weaknesses of Social contract theory? | (s)Rational people will not create rules that are too difficult or impossible to live by(w)Does not address moral claims of those outside the social contract (for example, infants, mentally impaired people, animals) |
Stregnth and weaknesses of Social contract theory? | (s)Constructs moral rules that are in our best interests to follow, which is an added benefit
(w)Does not resolve the question as to how much are we bound by laws of society |
Stregnth and weaknesses of Social contract theory? | (s)Constructs moral rules for harmonious living
(w)No clear or consistent definition of what is a moral rule or law |
John Locke key insights on ethics | - Morality must be demonstrable
- It is based on pleasure or pain
- Moral good and evil represent the conformity or disagreement of our voluntary actions to law |
John Locke key insights on ethics | - Three kinds of law: law of opinion (happiness); civic law (virtue); divine law (law of moral rectitude)
- We can know divine law through reason or revelation |
George Berkeley basic philisophical theory | - There is an absolute existence of unthinking things |
George Berkeley key insights on ethics | - Argues proof of God and that insights we have come through Him
- God's order of the world comes to us through our perceptions |
David Hume key insights on ethics | - Moral judgments are formed through feelings more than reason
- Virtue and vice exist through our feelings, not in the actions themselves |
Jeremy Bentham | Jeremy Bentham was a British philosopher and social reformer. His ethics brought him to the conclusion that government could not be ruled by the aristocracy. He believed in the rights of animals because they could feel pain. |
Jeremy Bentham | strongly opposed capital punishment.
He believed in the rights of animals because they could feel pain. He was opposed to the British legal system, especially for the power held by judges. |
Hedonic Calculus | Intensity (How powerful pain or pleasure is)
Duration (How long pain or pleasure lasts)
Certainty (How likely pain or pleasure is to result) |
Hedonic Calculus | Propinquity(How near pain or pleasure is)
Fecundity(How likely pain or pleasure will repeat) |
Hedonic Calculus | Purity(How pure (unmixed) the pain or pleasure is)
Extent(How many people pain or pleasure affects) |
John Stuart Mill | Mill rated the kinds of happiness open to humankind. Mill considered human nature to be above that of animals - he theorized that "higher happiness" is the goal of humankind. |
Arguments that support utilitarianism as a theory? | (objection)Utilitarianism wrongly elevates pleasure above other values. (reasoning)Maximizing pleasure should not be the overriding value in human existence. |
Arguments that support utilitarianism as a theory? | (objection)Utilitarianism ignores distributive justice.(reasoning)Utilitarianism doesn't necessarily distribute happiness to those who "deserve" to be happy, or to all in a society. |
Arguments that support utilitarianism as a theory? | (objection)Utilitarianism wrongly assumes that ends justify the means.(reasoning) Utilitarianism would allow for immoral actions (the means) in order to achieve the Greatest Good. |
Arguments that support utilitarianism as a theory? | (objection)Utilitarianism requires too much calculation.(reasoning)It is impractical to calculate the utility of every option and outcome as Utilitarianism would require. |
moral rules that are considered in evaluating the moral decision for each person: | * The act benefits people
* People should not be used as means
* Wrongness of killing
* Save as many as we can
* Sanctity of life
* Wrongness of discriminating against handicapped people
* Slippery slope argument |
Stregnths and weaknesses of social contact theory? | (s)Constructs moral rules for harmonious living
(w)No clear or consistent definition of what is a moral rule or law |
Stregnths and weaknesses of social contact theory? | (s)Constructs moral rules that are in our best interests to follow, which is an added benefit (w)Does not resolve the question as to how much are we bound by laws of society |
Stregnths and weaknesses of social contact theory? | (s)Rational people will not create rules that are too difficult or impossible to live by
(w)Does not address moral claims of those outside the social contract (for example, infants, mentally impaired people, animals) |
Stregnths and weaknesses of social contact theory? | Allows people to live together in a moral world of limited altruism |
Identify the distinctive elements of Modern Moral Philosophy. | |
James Rachels in Elements of Moral Philosophy? | |