Normative ethics
the systematic justification of moral intuitions, which include teleological and deontological categories.(the study of ethical action)
Metaethics
the nature and meaning of ethical concepts
Descriptivism
the nature of moral values
Moral designators
--terms used to Label actions in an ethical system--
**RIGHT- action justified by/consistent with/ a moral theory. ALWAYS implies an obligation.
**WRONG-Action which fails to be justified by and is inconsistent with a moral theory, always forbidden.
**PER
Moral Principle
guidelines that arise from a given moral theory
Supererogatory acts
Praiseworthy actions carrying no obligation
Ethics
philosophical investigation of moral codes
Morality
normative code of behavior accepted in a group
nonnormative ethics
a systematic evaluation of moral theory and language., sub categories include; metaethics and descriptivism.
descriptivism
Investigates if moral principals are an objective feature of this world or are realative to the individual.
absolutism
moral principles are objective and universally binding( may never be overridden)
relativism
moral systems are relative, (ie created) feature of the universe.
post hoc, ergo propter hoc
after this, therefore because of this.
ethnocentrism
the uncritical belief in the superiority of ones own culture.
objectivism
Moral Systems are an objective ,discoverable, feature of the universe
conventionalism
groups, socieites, cultures, historical epochs, etc., create moral systems based upon their particular needs
subjectivism
right and wrong get their meaning from the individual only.
folkways
ancestor veneration ( tradition) "stories and actions passed down.
plato
philosopher/scientist in ancient greece, student of Socrates. pivotal figure in the development of philosophy.
socrates
Ancient greek philosopher. Plato's mentor. major contributor to ETHICS. would not follow Critos plan to escape prison due to its immoral nature.
crito
devises plan to "rescue" Socrates from prison. Story is written by Plato and regards the justice and injustice and appropriate responses.
louis pojman
was against relativism and for objectivism. No objective right and wrong. Subjectivism leads to absurd conclusions and conventionalism collapses into subjectivism.
william sumner
For relativism, states; Since morality develops out of folkways which are relative to the environment/culture in which they arise, morality is relative to culture.
herodotus
Historian of ancient greece, dictates "custom is king" relative to sumners argument in that what was done will be done and is right because it was done.
5 necessary features of an acceptable moral principle?
*perscriptive-grammatically formulated as imperatives to emphasize the obligation which is associated with the act.
*universalizable-apply to all agents equally
*overriding/compelling-principles should be the primary motivational factor for actions fallin
Permissible acts are distinguished into neutral and supererogatory; what's the difference between them?
Neutral actions do not carry any moral implication and are neither right or wrong, and supererogatory actions are good actions that carry no moral implication.
four different, but related, types of normative social systems; what are they?
Morality
Religion
etiquette
law
three main types of Normative Ethical theories.
teleological
deontological
virtue
basic questions addressed in Ethical Theory.
what is the good?
How do we know good?
What does good mean?
How does Socrates criticize Crito's reasons for escaping from prison?
-He tells him he is going with the opinion of the many whom are stupid.
-The honorable life is to be valued
Why does Socrates think it would be wrong to escape from prison?
He says;
We should never intentionally do wrong
we shou;d never retaliate
we should always do what we claim is right via the laws.
discuss the origins of morality (according to Sumner).
Sumner poses that the origins of morality stem from the "folkways" of society and are essentially handed down. it is done like this because it was previously done like this.
What are the three historical/cultural factors which created the intellectual foundation for Moral Relativism (according to Pojman)?
**the rejection of ethnocentrism
**The decline of the role of religion in western society
**a false dichotomy between conventionalism and absolutism
What is the distinction between First and Second Order ethical principles (according to Pojman)?
the first order govern principles direct attitude and the second direct action
What are the two logical theses upon which Moral Relativism rests (according to Pojman)?
Absolutism and conventionalism
What is Pojman's argument against Moral Relativism?
*subjectivism reduces to absurdity
*conventionalism collapses into subjectivism
What are some of the criteria necessary for determining personhood?
* must poses continuous consciousness over time
*must be capable of forming representations about the world, formulating plans and acting on them.
Philosophy root word
Philia- love
Sophia- Wisdom
5 sub categories of philosophy
-epistemology- theory of knowledge
-metaphysics-theory of reality
-axiology-theory of value
-logic- theory of reason
-history of philosophy
J
Vanessa, soon John will be here. You have to stop skynet from killing him and make me a sandwich