Basic concepts in Ethics

The Moral Good or Right is the Central Concern of Ethics Moral goods are practical: they relates to what we do and how we feel. Goodness and right are value-laden: if something is good, then we ought to promote it, value it, or do it. Ethics tries to clarify our answers to the question, “what is good?”

What is good? Three possible answers: There are objective moral goods; they are independent of what anyone thinks about them. What is morally good is only subjectively true and never objectively true. There is no such thing as ‘morally good’, this is a concept that people made up to either make themselves feel good or to make others follow rules.

Deontology vs. Teleology There are two ways that we can be motivated by the good: Deontology claims that our motivations to do good come from our idea of “duty.” We ought to do what is good because we feel compelled by a sense of duty. Teleology claims that our motivations come from the end result. We ought to do what is good because it will bring about some end result that is good.

The study of ethics includes three principle areas: Metaethics Ethical theory Applied ethics

Questions in Metaethics: Metaethics helps to provide a foundation and complete story for our ethical theories and beliefs. What is the meaning of ethical concepts? What do people mean when they say something is ‘good’? How we acquire knowledge of ethical concepts? How do we learn about ‘good’ and ‘bad’? What is the justification for ethical claims? How do we justify our beliefs about what is good or bad? What are the characteristics of ethical facts or claims? What do good or bad things look like? How do we distinguish them or recognize them?

Four ethical theories Utilitarianism or consequentialism: acts are good whenever they promote better consequences, or greater utility. Kantianism: good actions follow moral laws that can be universalized. Virtue ethics: good actions are the result of possessing a good character. Ultimately good character is the product of a kind of wisdom or good moral judgment. Pluralism: there are a number of basic, intuitively obvious, and non-absolute principles that should guide moral judgments.

Normativity Every moral theory is based on a concept of value. Values are either: Intrinsic: valued for their own sake. Extrinsic: valued because they promote some other goal or purpose.

Some natural approaches to normativity Absolutism: Some moral requirements are absolute; they do not admit of any exceptions. Egoism: The only thing that is morally good is promoting one’s own personal well-being. Relativism: There are no universally accepted moral truths; morality is relative to individuals or social communities. Pluralism: There are multiple possible moral principles that are not necessarily incompatible.

Thought experiments and intutions: Because theories of value must appeal to our intuitions about right and wrong, philosophers typically introduce thought experiments to compare or criticize ethical theories

Thought experiments: These are imaginative scenarios intended to elicit some kind of intuitive response. For example: We might consider a case in which killing one person could save the lives of several people. We might consider a case in which telling a lie may save someone’s life. We might consider who would receive medical treatment given very scarce resources (a deserted island scenario).

Applied ethics Applications of ethical theories to real-world scenarios is called applied ethics. In applied ethics, we might consider the ethics pertaining to: Business Medicine Law Everyday life

To summarize: Metaethics: considers the most broad and fundamental questions that every ethical theory must answer. Ethical theory: provides a way of distinguishing moral from immoral actions based on a certain set of values. Applied ethics: responds to real-world situations, using one or more of the ethical theories.