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47 Cards in this Set
- Front
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What are the Agent Centered Theories? (Agent Centered Ethics) |
Intellectualism (Socratic, Aristotelin) Voluntarism: Nietzsche |
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What are the Act Centered Theories? |
*Deontological Theories: there are certain intrinsic features of the act itself that determine its rightness (Backward-Looking) *Teleological Theories: an act is right or wrong in relation to its consequences (Consequentialism. Forward-Looking) |
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What are the components of Teleological Ethics? |
*Egoism: An act is right if it promotes the agent's good or well-being *Altruism: An act is right if it promotes the well-being of others (excluding the agent) *Utilitarianism: An act is right if it promotes the well-being of everyone involved |
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What are the Deontological Theories? |
*Divine Command: The intrinsic feature of the good act is its conformity to divine endorsement *Kantianism: The intrinsic feature of whether its maxim can become universal law |
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What is Psychological Egoism? |
A thesis about human motivation. "All human beings serve their own self-interest" -Palmer Once a hypothesis is accepted, everything may be interpreted to support it |
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Ethical Egoism |
Each person ought to act to serve his or her own long-term self interest |
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Prisoner's Dilemma |
Displays the crisis of individualism for the egoist. Wanting to maximize his or her self-interest on their own, they fail. (If they confess in hopes to not be penalized, they both get an F on the test) |
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How can psychological egoism be employed as a premise for ethical egoism? |
Psychological egoism's relation to ethics: i. What we ought to do is what we are capable of doing ("ought implies can") ii. All we are capable of doing is furthering our own self-interest (Psychological Egoism) iii. Therefore, all that we ought to do is further our own self-interest |
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How might ethical egoism be defended without recourse to psychological egoism? |
"Looking out for others" is self-defeating. The best interest of everyone is served when we attend to our own interests. If greater happiness and reward come to those pursuing their own interest, then the more people do this, the better. |
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How might it be said that ethical egoism contains a formal contradiction? |
Palmer - The case of the deadly disease i. Everyone ought to act so as to promote his or her self-interest ii. Therefore, I should get the vaccine exclusively for myself iii. Therefore, I should recommend that Jones (and everyone else) do the same iv. But I would not be serving my best self-interest if I gave that advice to Jones (and others) v. Therefore, I should not recommend that Jones do the same Contradiction: iii & v |
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What is Ayn Rand's defense of egoism? |
Ayn Rands opts for an egoism that avoids duties to others (other than the agent). So she advocates a kind of individualist rational egoism. "Ethics" (and its concerns with non-arbitrariness and conflict resolution) is (are) in the purview of the second-hander. |
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What problems with egoism are exposed by the prisoners' dilemma? |
For the egoist, wanting to maximize your own self-interest on your own, you will fail. By confessing in order to hope not to be penalized, if the other is an egoist then they will confess as well and you will both fail. |
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Principle of Utility (Bentham's central normative principle) |
Utility provides the 'standard of right and wrong'. Utility is to be understood in terms of happiness. "It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong" |
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What is the Hedonic calculus? |
The Hedonic Calculus introduces the idea that human pleasures and pains are measurable |
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Paradox of Hedonism |
The paradox of hedonism rests on the empirical fact that often times the best way to pursue happiness or pleasure is by not pursuing it directly or by thinking about it. (The best way to achieve pleasure is to not directly desire it, but to let it come out as a by-product of desiring something else) |
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What criterion in the hedonic calculus clearly distinguishes utilitarianism from egoism? How does it do so? |
Extent distinguishes utilitarianism from egoism. Extent - number of people affected. This applies to the Utilitarian because they believe an act is right if it benefits the greatest amount of people. For the Egoist, an act is right if it brings out the best result for yourself and you aren't worried about other people. |
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How do Bentham and Mill differ in their formulation of utilitarianism? What do their theories have in common? |
Mill rejects Bentham's purely quantitative assessment of pleasure and replaces it with a qualitative one. Mill puts far greater stress on the variety of pleasures and distinguishes between their respective values. Bentham's theory was act utilitarianism, but Mill's was rule utilitarianism. Bentham and Mill both believed that human actions are motivated entirely by pleasure and pain. They both believe pleasure is the sole intrinsic good. |
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What pleasures, for Mill, are the highest? How does he prove that these pleasures are the highest? |
For Mill, pleasures of the mind are higher and more estimable than those of the body. How does he prove this - "a being of higher faculties requires more to make him happy, is capable probably of more acute suffering... in spite of these abilities, he can never really wish to sink into what he feels to be a lower grade of existence.." |
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What are the 3 problems presented against Utilitarianism? |
Problems of Consequences, Problems of Special Responsibilities, Problem of Justice |
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Problems of Consequences (against Utilitarianism) |
If the rightness of an action depends on it producing the greatest balance of happiness over unhappiness, of pleasure over pain, then making a moral decision involves calculating that action's effects. Where does the consideration of consequences come to an end? How can we be sure we calculated all the possible consequences of an action? |
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Problem of Special Responsibilities (against Utilitarianism) |
Most of us accept that we have special responsibilities to certain people; we further accept that the rightness of these responsibilities does not necessarily derive from the fact that they increase the sum total of human happiness. However, this is not what the utilitarian will admit. Ex: saving the drowning cancer-causing scientist because it will provide greatest happiness of the greatest number over saving your own child. |
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Problem of Justice (against Utilitarianism) |
Utilitarianism has the virtue of impartiality (no one person can claim privilege) but overlooks distribution. (We are told to aim for the greatest possible amount of happiness and count everybody's happiness equally, but are not told how this happiness is to be distributed) So it is non-egalitarian. Also it does not consider non-comparitive Justice: to each according to their desert (just desert). On this reasoning, people are not punished because of what thet may do or because of their punishment on others, but solely because of what they themselves have or have not done |
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How can rule utilitarianism reply to the three problems (problems against utilitarianism)? |
The three problems against Utilitarianism can be rebutted by Rule Utilitarianism, where rules are established by the principle of utility and acts are performed and judged according to those rules. -Special responsibilities- you would be destroying the bonds of families if you save the scientist over your own child. -Consequences- there are a certain level of consequences you must consider. Rule utilitarians draw the line in accordance to rules -Justice - let's incorporate equal distribution into the rules and not just fairness |
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Speciesism |
A discriminatory attitude towards non-human animals on the grounds of being members of another species |
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What characteristics do animals share with humans that make them morally relevant, for Peter Singer? |
Adult apes, cats, mice, and other mammals are more aware of what is happening to them, more self-directing, and, so far as we can tell, at least as sensitive to pain as any human infant |
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What is Kant's view of animal rights? |
Reasoning is unique to human beings. Animals can reason but not how humans do. Reason is what distinguishes us from animals |
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Euthyphro Dilemma |
Either a right action is right because God approves (or commands) it or God approves (or commands) it because it is right |
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What are the candidates for Good without Qualification (Unconditional Good) |
1. Talents of the mind (Intelligence and Judgment) 2. Qualities of Character (Courage, resolution, and perseverance) 3. Gifts of Fortune (Power, wealth, and honor) 4. Happiness |
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Positive vs. Negative Freedom |
Positive Freedom is the "Freedom to...": Possession of a capacity to act. Negative Freedom is the "Freedom from": Freedom from external restraint on one's action |
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Categorical Imperative |
First and most important: "I ought never to act except in such a way that I can also will that my maxim should become a universal law". Categorical Imperative is obeyed precisely because what it commands is accepted as being good in itself, as being an intrinsic good. |
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Hypothetical Imperative |
Tells us what actions would be good solely as a means to something else. For example, "If I want to lose weight, I must eat less" - the point here is that the imperative (to eat less) is dependent on the desire to achieve a certain result (to lose weight); but if I didn't want to lose weight, the command would lose its force. Eating less, therefore is not considered good in itself, but it is an instrumental good. |
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Universal Law Formulation of Categorical Imperative |
We must be able to will that a maxim of our action should become a universal law. Some actions are so constituted that their maxim cannot even be conceived as a universal law of nature without contradiction |
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Contradiction in Conception |
We cannot think of the maxim as universally adopted as it leads to an incoherence (a contradiction or an impossibility) in the way the world would have to be if it were universally acted on |
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Contradiction in the Will |
The maxim is not incoherent if it was universally adopted, but the person involved would not will it to be universalized. FUL.. it is impossible to will that their maxim should be raised to the universality of a law of nature, because such a will would contradict itself |
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What is the connection, for Kant, between freedom and reason? |
"I can act from reasons, therefore I am free". Kant says that we are genuinely free (positive freedom) if we act from the categorical constraints provided by reason. To be genuinely free, act from reasons alone. |
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Hedonism |
The philosophy that pleasure is the most important pursuit of mankind, and the only thing that is good for an individual. Hedonists, therefore, strive to maximize their total pleasure. Hedonism is scientifically accessible |
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What is a hedon? |
A unit of pleasure used to theoretically weigh people's happiness |
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Intrinsic vs. Instrumental Good |
Intrinsic - Qualities are pleasurable in themselves. Instrumental- That these are qualities that lead to pleasure. |
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Quantitative Utilitarianism vs. Qualitative Utilitarianism |
According to Quantitative Utilitarianism, every action results in some amount of "pleasure" and some amount of "pain" for the individual. Qualitative Utilitarianism rejected Hedonic Calculus and categorized "pleasures" and "pains" in a more qualitative manner. |
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Preference Utilitarianism |
Values actions that fulfill the greatest amount of personal interests, as opposed to actions that generate the greatest amount of pleasure. Preference Utilitarianism welcomes a flexibility of choice. |
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Rule Utilitarianism |
Rule Utilitarianism has no concept of prima facie duty, it denies that there are any past-looking duties, and above all, it provides an absolute criterion for judgment for making moral decisions |
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For the utilitarian, what is intrinsically good and what is instrumentally good? |
Intrinsic value - that they are pleasurable in themselves Instrumental value - that these are qualities that lead to pleasure |
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What are some candidates for unconditional good? Why do they fail (according to Kant?) |
Candidates for the Unconditional Good: Talents of the mind, Qualities of Character, Gifts of Fortune, and Happiness. Kant rejects these candidates and claims that they 'fail' because they are all capable of making a situation morally worse. Therefore, they cannot be called "intrinsically good" |
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Hobbes account of the social contract and its relevance for the prisoner's dilemma |
According to Hobbes, the Prisoner's Dilemma can be remedied if the [rational] egoist enter a social contract. In the contract, they forego some of their basic rights as egoists in order to be able to cooperate and avoid the dire consequences of act-egoism. As a result, they are able to maximize their self-interest in the long-run |
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What is Hobbes account of the state of nature |
Hobbes argues that natural inequalities between humans are not so great as to give anyone clear superiority; and thus all must live in constant fear of loss or violence. In this state, each person has a natural right to do anything one thinks necessary for preserving one's own life, and life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short". |
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What is a main problem for psychological egoism as an empirical generalization? |
As an empirical generalization, psychological egoism is not testable. Therefore, it is meaningless. If a hypothesis purports to say something about the world, then there must be some conditions that could verify it and some that conceivable could refute it. |
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How does Kant distance himself from Divine Command Theories? |
He, as in the Euthyphro dilemma, asked if what was morally good was commanded by God because it was morally good or if it was morally good because it was commanded by God. Kant opted for the former. Also, he suggested that the act according to duty was the only good act and set up rational tests for the practitioner to recognize which acts were in accord with duty. Thus placing the criterion of morality in the hands of the moral agent |
