Through general moral norms or principles we direct our actions and:
Inform our choices
Theories help us:
Understand the empirical world by explaining the causes of events (why things are the way they are)
The germ theory of disease:
Explains how particular diseases arise and spread in a human population
The heliocentric (sun-centered) theory or planetary motion:
Explains why the planets in our solar system behave the way they do
Moral theory-
Explains not why one event causes another but why an action is right or wrong or why a person or persons character is good or bad
A moral theory tells us what it is about an action that makes it:
Right
A moral theory tells us what it is about a person that makes him or her:
Good
The divine command theory of morality:
Says that right actions are those commanded or willed by God
Traditional utilitarianism says that:
Right actions are those that produce the greatest happiness for all concerned
Moral theories are attempts to:
Define rightness or goodness
Moral theories are more basic than:
Moral principles or other general norms
Moral theorizing-
Making, using, or assessing moral theories or parts of theories
Moral theorizing is:
Normal and pervasive in the moral life
We MUST theorize in order to:
Investigate
Theories of obligation (or duty)-
Moral theories that concentrate on right and wrong
Another term for theories of obligation:
Theories of right action
Examples of theories of right action:
The divine command theory and utilitarianism
Virtue-based theories-
Moral theories that focus on good and bad persons or character
How do moral theories fit into everyday moral reasoning?
1. Moral theories can figure directly into our moral arguments
2. Theories can
Moral theories can fit directly into our:
Moral arguments
Moral arguments contain:
Both moral and nonmoral premises
A moral premise can consist of:
A moral principle, a moral rule or a claim expressing a central tenet of a moral theory
A moral rule is a:
Less general norm derived from or based on a principle
Theories can have an __________________ impact on moral arguments
Indirect
Moral theories are more _____________than moral principles, rules or judgments
General
Moral theories must be filled out with details about:
How to apply them in real life and the kinds of cases to which they are relevant
Our moral deliberations involve:
Both the general and the particular
If we believe our judgments to be more credible than the implications of our theory:
We may modify the theory accordingly
Theories of ___________________ have dominated the field of bioethics
Right-action
Consequentialist moral theories-
Insist that the rightness of actions depends solely on their consequences or results
The key question in consequentialist moral theories is:
What or how much good the actions produce
Deontological theories-
Say that the rightness of actions is determined not solely by their consequences but partly or entirely by their intrinsic nature
Another name for deontological theories:
Nonconsequentialist theories
In deontological theories rightness depends on the kind of actions they are, NOT:
On how much good they produce
The leading consequentialist theory is:
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism-
The view that right actions are those that result in the most beneficial balance of good over bad consequences for everyone involved
Utilitarianism says we should maximize the:
Nonmoral good of everyone affected, regardless of the contrary urgings of moral rules or unbending moral principles
There are various definitions of utility with some equating it with:
Happiness or pleasure, others with satisfaction of preferences or desires
Act-utilitarianism-
The idea that the rightness of actions depends solely on the relative good produced by individual actions
Rule-utilitarianism-
Avoids judging rightness by specific acts and focuses instead on rules governing categories of acts
Act-utilitarianism says an act is right if:
In a particular situation it produces a greater balance of good over bad than any alternative acts
Rule-utilitarianism says that a right action is one that:
Conforms to a rule, and if followed consistently, creates (for everyone involved) the most beneficial balance of good over bad
In rule-utilitarianism we are to adhere to the rules because:
They maximize the good for everyone considered
The classic version of utilitarianism was devised by:
English philosopher Jeremy Bentham and given more detail by another English philosopher, John Stuart Mill
Bentham's view on happiness:
Thinks that its one-dimensional: It is pleasure, pure and simple, something that varies only in the amount that an agent can experience
Mill's view on happiness:
Thinks that pleasures can vary in quality and quantity. There are lower and higher pleasures
Utilitarianism demands a strong sense of:
Impartiality
A rule-utilitarianism look at which rule is:
Consistently followed
Kantian ethics comes from:
German philosopher Immanuel Kant
The _____________________ is widely regarded as probably the most sophisticated and influential deontological theory ever devised
Kantian ethics theory
Kantian ethics-
*Very antithesis of utilitarianism
*Believes that the right of actions do not depend in the least on consequences, maximization of utility and production of happiness
For Kant theory, the core of morality consists of:
Following a rational and universally acceptable moral rule and doing so solely out of sense of duty
In Kant theory, an action is right only if:
It conforms to such rule
In Kant theory we are morally praiseworthy only if:
We perform it for duty's sake alone
In Kant's system, all our moral duties are expressed in the form of:
Categorical imperatives
Imperative-
A command to do something; it is categorical if it applies without exception without regard for particular needs or purposes
Hypothetical imperative-
A command to do something if we want to achieve particular aims
Kant says that through:
Reason and reflection we can derive our duties from a single moral principle (the categorical imperative)
2 characteristics to Kant theory:
Universality and impartiality
Natural law theory-
The view that right actions are those that conform to moral standards discerned in nature through human reason
The natural law theory is directed towards:
Goals
The natural law theory says that humans achieve their highest good when they:
Follow their true, natural inclinations leading to goals
Prime duty of humans is to:
Guide their lives toward natural ends, acting in accordance with the requirements of natural law
Included in the natural law theory is:
The element of rationality
The natural law theory has 2 forms:
Religious and nonreligous
The natural law theory is the official outlook of the:
Roman Catholic Church
Some believe that Natural law theory was created by:
God
Natural law theory does not provide a relevant:
Moral rule covering every situation, but it does offer guidance through general moral principles
Natural law theory prohibits:
Killing the innocent, lying, using contraceptives, adultery, blasphemy, and sodomy
Kant theory forbids:
Treating a person simply, or merely as a means
The natural law theory uses the:
Doctrine of double effect
The principle of the natural law theory affirms that performing a bad action to bring about a good effect is:
Never morally acceptable but that performing a good action may sometimes be acceptable even if it produces a bad effect
4 tests that an action must pass to be judged permissible:
1. The action itself must be morally permissible
2. Causing a bad effect must not be used to obtain a good effect
3. Whatever the outcome of an action, the intention must be to cause only a good effect
4. The bad effect of an action must not be greater in
Contractarianism-
Moral theories based on the idea of a social contract, or agreement, among individuals for mutual advantage