| A | B |
|---|
| moral nihilism | There is no such thing as right and wrong |
| Moral skepticism | We cannot know whether there are any moral truths |
| Moral subjectivism | Moral views are simply the reflections of the inner states of one person and such views are valid only for that person |
| Psychological egoism | Descriptive theory that maintains that everyone acts out of his or her own self- interest, even if one the surface the action appears selfless |
| Ethical egoism | Normative theory that says everyone SHOULD act out of his or her self-interest. |
| Ethical altruism | Maintains that we ought to behave in an unselfish way. |
| Psychological altruism | Maintains that at least sometimes we do behavior in an altruistic way |
| Altruism | The focus is on the interests or needs of others instead of one's own needs |
| Reciprocal altruism | This theory maintains that you should act unselfishly toward others , “especially in emergencies” and likewise you can expect others to act the same way toward you” |
| Rational egoism | This theory maintains that it is irrational to act against one’s self-interest. |
| Frank Serpico | a police officer who was altruistic when he exposed police corruption in NYC at great risk to his life |
| Doing the right/ethical thing | This can be seen as altruistic because such behavior is beneficial to society overall and such behavior can come at great cost to oneself |
| Ayn Rand | Was an advocate of ethical egoism and rational egoism |
| Levinas | Was an advocate of ethical altruism |
| Ethical relativism | The normative theory that there is no universal moral principle or code that applies to all cultures. Instead whatever is considered right by the majority of a culture is right for that culture, and the same for what is considered wrong. |
| Cultural relativism | The descriptive view that moral codes differ from one culture to another. This is simply a matter of fact, an observational matter. |
| Soft universalism | There are at least a few principles of ethics that are common across all cultures or at least ought to be |
| Hard universalism | There is a set of moral principles that applies to all cultures |
| metaethics | Examines the meaning of ethical terms and the foundations of an ethical theory |
| ethics | The field that examines what should be considered morally right and what should be considered morally wrong |
| Moral isolationism | the idea that we can never know another culture well enough to be able to make judgments about its practice of morality. |
| Trying Out One's New Sword | An article written by Mary Midgley in which she discusses the Samarai warrior practice of testing out the sharpness of their new swords before battle by chopping in half pedestrians they pass on the street |
| Reason Midgley disagrees with moral isolationism | If we can't blame another culture we can't then praise out own either because both judgments involve appeal to a standard. If we dismiss all standards as relative and not objective then moral reasoning breaks down. |
| An ethical relativist is also a _______ | moral isolationist because such a person cannot judge the moral practices in any way, either positively or negatively |
| The reason an ethical relativist could never say that things like slavery, genital mutilation or genocide are objectively, absolutely wrong | They say there are no universal moral principles to appeal to in determining if something is really wrong. All they can say is that the majority of a particular society determine what is right and wrong for them only |
| The reason an ethical relativist might have an easier time tolerating other people's views | They say there's nothing absolute about morality, so they can just say each culture decides what is right and wrong for them |
| There is no moral truth. | This sentence is contradictory, since it ends up showing the very thing it is saying doesn't exist. |
| ethical or moral absolutism (universalism) | This has the advantage that you can work to stop or change moral practices (such as torturing the innocent) by appealing to a standard that holds everyone accountable |
| An advantage of ethical relativism | Foster tolerance because nothing is considered absolutely right or wrong, and so it turns down the temperature of debates, so to speak. |
| A disadvantage of ethical relativism | Cannot be used as a basis to argue for changing unacceptable practices in a society |
| A key disadvantage of ethical relativism | Does not consider horrible acts such as the torturing and murdering of the innocent to be unethical as long as the majority approve of it |
| An advantage of altruism | When people care about the needs of others and not just about their own interests, society is more harmonious and better off |
| A disadvantage of altruism | Those people who have a hard time sacrificing for others would find it difficult |
| An advantage of egoism | People who ordinarily think only of themselves would find it a compatible theory |
| A disadvantage of egoism | A society with individuals all people their own self-interest can result in chaotic, uncivil, even violent environments |
