1. Ethics—The Basics by John Mizzoni
INTRODUCTION

2. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
Do murderers Deserve the death penalty?

3. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
Is executing murderers morally justified because it will likely have more good consequences for society than a sentence of life in prison?
WHAT IS MORALITY?

4. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
MORALITY refers to the ideas, beliefs, and concepts of what people value, of conduct that is right or wrong, good or bad, and of any choices and actions in the practice of that conduct.
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?

5. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
PHILOSOPHY refers to “love of wisdom”, the systematic inquiry into the nature of things based on logical reasoning, or rationality.
WHAT IS MORAL PHILOSOPHY?

6. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
MORAL PHILOSOPHY, or PHILOSOPHICAL ETHICS, refers to the systematic reasoned inquiry into the nature of morality (values, choices, principles, theories, traditions, and conduct)
WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MORALITY AND MORAL PHILOSOPHY?

7. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
Moral philosophy approaches morality through the use of logical reasoning.
It recommends moral action based on reason.
Moral philosophy is one subset of morality.
WHAT ARE VALUES?

8. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
Values are those people and things that we find important to us.
Values may be concrete—such as Francis of Assisi, Gandhi, or a parent, (people) or gold or land (things); or they may be abstract—including beliefs, attitudes, preferences, rules, codes, judgments, or theories.

9. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
MORAL THEOLOGY approaches morality through faith and scripture as well as reason.
Moral theology recommends moral action based on faith.
Moral theology is another subset of morality.
DO SOCIAL SCIENCES RELATE TO MORALITY?

10. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
SOCIAL SCIENCES (e.g. anthropology, social psychology, and sociology) also approach morality through a variety of disciplinary perspectives.
They describe the morality of different people at various times and in various places. This descriptive ethics is another subset of morality.

11. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
Moral philosophy
Social sciences
Moral theology
MORALITY

12. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
Is it morally permissible —is it ethically right— for a woman to drink alcohol while pregnant?

13. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
How do we begin to answer ethical questions like these?
Are there ethical standards that can help us?

14. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
Where do ethical standards come from?
My society?
My God? My religion?
My own rationality?
My feelings?

15. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
Philosophers:
Think (use reason/rationality/logic)
Organize and group questions that are similar
Formulate answers

16. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
The #1 value (assumption, presupposition) of moral philosophers, like other philosophers, is RATIONALITY.
Rationality implies at least three things:
Free choice
Impartiality
Universalizability
Rationality is fundamental to philosophy.
REASON RULES! REASONS RULE!

17. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS “JUSTIFICATION”?
In moral philosophy, justification is providing rational arguments—reasons and evidence—to support:
ethical assumptions,
ethical premises, and
ethical conclusions
REASON RULES! REASONS RULE!

18. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
What are the four basic concerns of ethics?

19. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
One basic ethical concern is the philosophical problem of the origins of ethics.
There are answers to this question, but it is hard to know which answers are the correct answers.

20. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
A second basic ethical concern is the philosophical problem of relativism.
Is ethics always a direct function of society?

21. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
A third basic ethical concern is the philosophical problem of human nature.
What is essential to being human?

22. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
A fourth basic ethical concern is the philosophical problem of right and wrong.
What makes something morally right or morally good, morally wrong or morally bad?

23. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
What is the structure of ethics?
Concepts, e.g., good, happiness
Principles, e.g., “Utility”
Theories, e.g., act-utilitarianism
Traditions, e.g., utilitarian ethics

24. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
The Structure of Ethics
Traditions
Principles
Theories
Concepts

25. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
What is the organization of ethics?
What is ethics and what is not ethics (metaethics)
Ethical theories and traditions (normative ethics)
Use of theories to solve real problems (applied ethics)

26. Ethics—The Basics INTRODUCTION
Normative
ethics
Applied ethics
METAETHICS
The Organization of Ethics