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Brief introduction to ethics (Metaethics: Where our ethical principles…
Brief introduction to ethics
Metaethics
: Where our ethical principles come from, and what they mean
Moral psychology
Egoism and Alturism
Thomas Hobbes: many, if not all, of our actions are promoted by selfish desires
Psychological egoism:
self-oriented interests ultimately motivates all human actions
Even if an action seems selfless, it is ultimately motivated by selfish interests
Psychological egoism:
self-oriented interests ultimately motivates all human actions
Even if an action seems selfless, it is ultimately motivated by selfish interests
Psychological hedonism:
Pleasure is the specific driving force behind all of our actions
Psychological alturism
: Some of our actions are motivated by instinctive benevolence (desire to be good to others)
Emotion and Reason
The role of reason and emotions in motivating our moral actions.
David Hume
: Moral assessments involve our emotions, and not our reason
"Reason is, and ought to be, the slave of the passions"
A.J. Ayer:
Denies that moral assessments are factual descriptions
Prescriptive element:
Prescribing some specific behavior. What you ought to do.
Emotive element:
Emotions about specific behaviour
Immanuel Kant
: True moral actions are motivated only by reason when it is free from emotions and desirer
Baier
: All our moral choices are, or can be, backed by some reason or justification
Focused on the reasoning and argumentation process in moral choices
Normative ethics
: The goal is to arrive at moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct.
Key assumption -> only one ultimate criterion of moral conduct, whether it is a single rule or a set of principles
Golden rule
: You should do to others what you want others to do to us.
Example of normative theory that establishes a single principle to judge our actions
Virtue theory
Places little emphasis on learning rules, instead stress the importance of developing good habits of character
Platos four Cardinal Virtues
Wisdom
Temperance
Justice
Courage
Bad virtues: cowardice, insensibility, injustice, vanity
Aristotele
Most virtues falls between extreme character traits -> One can have too much courage
We need assistance from our reason to find balance
Theological virtues
: Supplemented the greek list with faith, hope, charity
Virtue theory has declined with modern moral theories, but has still a role
Consequentialist normative theories
: correct moral conduct is determined solely by a cost-benefit analysis of an actions consequences
First
; tally both the good and the bad consequences of an action
Second
; determine whether the total good consequences outweigh the total bad consequences
Three subdivisions
Ethical Egoism:
An action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favourable than unfavourable only to the agent performing the action
Ethical Alturism
: An action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favourable than unfavourable to everyone except the agent
Utilitarionism
: An action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favourable than unfavourable to everyone
Act-Utilitarianism
: We tally the consequences of each action and determine case by case whether it is morally right or wrong
Hedonistic Utilitarianism
: We tally the pleasure and pain which results from our actions
Duty/Deontological Theories (Rules)
Base morality on specific, foundational principles of obligation (nonconsequentialist)
Three important duty theories
Samuel Pufendorf 17th century
: duties of God, duties to oneself and duties to others
Rights theory
Declaration of independece
: three foundational rights: life, liberty and pursuit of happiness
Universal, equal and inalienable
Kant
: Only a single, self-evident principle of reason
Categorical Imperative
: Mandates an action, irrespective of ones personal desires
Treat people as an end, not a means to an end
Ethics:
systematising, defending, and recommending concept of right and wrong behaviour.
Usually divided into three subject areas; metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics
Applied Ethics
: Examine specific controversial issues, such as abortion, environmental concerns etc. by applying the tools of meta ethics and normative ethics