author and title of lecture excerpt
Audi, "The Place of Ethical Theory in Business Ethics
ethical theory vs. ethical theories
ethical theory is concerned with understanding morality (right and wrong)
an ethical theory is a morality system (a statement of standards of right and wrong)
3 layers of ethics
ethical theories, normative ethics, and meta-ethics
what we should do (in general, non-specific)
normative ethics
questions about the nature of ethics
meta-ethics
what we should do in concrete situations
applied ethics
metaphysics of ethics deals with questions like...
Is ethics real? Are right and wrong real?
cognitivism
moral claims are true or false
non-cognitivism
moral claims are neither true nor false
expressivism/emotivism
moral claims are expressions of feeling, not fact
prescriptivism
moral claims are commands or imperatives, not facts
realism
some moral claims are objectively true
anti-realism
no moral claims are objectively true
moral relativism
some moral claims are true, but all of these are only relatively true (depends on circumstances), so no moral claims are objectively true
moral nihilism
all moral claims are false
author associated with moral nihilism
JL Mackie ("Moral Error Theory")
epistemology
study of knowledge (true belief and justification)
epistemology of ethics
Can we justify moral claims?
ethical skeptics"...
can't get knowledge about moral claims, but maybe justification
strong ethical skeptics" believe...
can't even get justification about moral claims
2 modes of justification
empiricism (test by observation) and rationalism (test by rational processes)
example of using empiricism as justification for moral claims
utilitarianism: observe and predict effects on welfare
example of rationalism as justification for moral claims
Kantianism: apply categorical imperative
person who came up with "reflective equilibrium
Rawls
premise of "reflective equilibrium
balance general principles and particular cases against each other (state of balance among set of beliefs) (reflection and revision of one's beliefs to make them coherent between a particular case and one's beliefs about a broader range of moral and factu
virtue ethics principle
as a person of good character would
origin of virtue ethics
Aristotle (esp. Nicomachean Ethics)
other names for deontological ethics
Kantianism, duty-based ethics
origin of deontological ethics
Immanuel Kant (esp. Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals)
name of main principle of deontological ethics
Categorical Imperative
2 ways of stating main principle of deontological ethics
Act as you would if your actions became universal law (ie, if you were also subject to it)
Treat every person as an end, never just a means
other name for consequentialism ethics
utilitarianism
origin of consequentialism
JS Mill (esp. Utilitarianism)
2 types of consequentialism
direct/act utilitarianism and indirect/rule utilitarianism
direct utilitarianism (act utilitarianism)
Act so as to maximize happiness, minimize unhappiness, or both
indirect utilitarianism (rule utilitarianism)
Act according to a set of rules that maximizes happiness