| A | B |
|---|
| Emotivism | moral propositions make no claims about reality but, rather, merely express the approval and disapproval of the speaker |
| Relativism (subjectivism) | denial of any absolute or objective moral values, and the affirmation of the individual as the source of morality |
| Absolutism (objectivism) | moral values are independent of human opinion and have a common or universal application |
| Cultural relativism | morality and other values are rooted in the experience, habits, and preferences of a culture |
| Relativism as impractical | people don’t actually live as relativists, just say they are (we impose our morality on others) |
| Existentialism | philosophical perspective which disdains abstractions and focuses on the concrete reality and freedom of the existing individual |
| Existence precedes essence | what is first given is the existence of a particular thing; only after that does its essence appear |
| Subjectivity | in existentialism, the concretely existing individual as the point of departure for authentic philosophizing |
| Determinism | view that everything that comes into being is caused in such a way that it could not have been otherwise |
| Hard-determinism | view that the will is determined ultimately by factors beyond the responsibility of the individual |
| Soft-determinism | view that the will is determined by the character of the individual, and thus individuals are responsible for their choices |
| Indeterminism | view that some things, and therefore possibly the will, are free of causal determination |
| Teleological ethics | view that emphasizes the results of actions as the test of their rightness |
| Deontological ethics | view that emphasizes the performance of duty, rather than results, as the sign of right action |
| Hedonism | ethical doctrine that pleasure is the highest good, and the production of pleasure is the criterion of right action |
| Pleasure principle (j.j.) | pleasure is the criterion or standard or payoff of right action |
| Egoism | literally, “I-ism,” the emphasis on the self as the ultimate reality, central concern, etc… |
| Psychological egoism | the belief that everyone by nature seeks his or her self-interest |
| Ethical egoism (hedonic egoism) | egoism + hedonism |
| Naturalistic ethics | theories of moral obligations based on and derived from nature, including human nature |
| Factual judgment | judgment which describes some empirical state of affairs |
| Value Judgment | judgment which evaluates something or judges its worth |
| Altruism | belief that everyone ought as much as possible to seek the good of others |
| Principle of utility | usefulness or that which promoted the greatest balance of good over evil |
| Benevolence principle | happiness is to be distributed as widely and as equally as possible among all people |
| Utalitarianism as social hedonism | ethical doctrine that an action is right if, and only if, it promotes the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people |
| Utalitarianism as political position | it’s a democratic point of view |
| Bentham’s version of Utalitarianism | quantity over quality |
| Mill’s version of Utalitarianism | quality over quantity |
| Principle of utility as unprovable | questions of ultimate ends to not admit of proof |
| Principle of utility as provable (Mill’s Proof) | it is possible to produce that anything is desirable if people do actually desire it |
| Mill’s criterion of the best pleasures | quality is more important that quantity |
| Mill’s internal sanction | a motivation lying within us (feeling or conscience) for behavior of a certain kind |
| Intention | what the agent wills to do |
| Motive | feeling which makes him will so to do |
| Act-utalitarianism | ethical theory that emphasizes particular actions to be taken in particular situations to bring about the greatest benefit |
| Rule-utaltitarism | ethical theory which emphasizes rules to be followed in a situation to bring about the greatest benefit |
| Justice principle | happiness is to be distributed among a many people as possible |
| Naturalistic fallacy (Hume’s Is/Ought argument) | mistake of equating a factual judgment with a value judgment, or confusing a natural property (pleasure) with a nonnatural property (good) |
| Kant’s rejection of teleological ethics | teleological ethics are based on what happens to be, might be, or could be, instead of matter of necessity and universality |
| Good will, as basis of morality | : intention to act in accordance with moral law; or nothing in the world can possibly be conceived which could be called good without qualification except a good will |
| Categorical imperative | (Kant) principle of moral conduct: “act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law”; more generally, a moral command with no “ifs” or “buts” |
| Hypothtetical | commands you to do X if you wanted Y |
| Categorical | commands you to do X inasmuch as X is intrinsically right, that is, right in and of itself, aside from any other considerations |
| 3 versions of the Categorical imperative | 1.act only according to that maxi by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law 2.act only so that the will through its maxims could regard itself at the same time as making universal laws 3.act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only |
