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CHAPTER SEVEN: ETHICSCHAPTER SEVEN: ETHICS

P H I L O S O P H YP H I L O S O P H Y

A Text with ReadingsA Text with ReadingsELEVENTH EDITIONELEVENTH EDITION

M A N U E L V E L A S Q U E ZM A N U E L V E L A S Q U E Z



• Ethics is the study of those values that relate to our moral conduct, including questions of good and evil, right and wrong, and moral responsibility.



• The descriptive study of ethics, which raises the issue of ethical relativism, studies ethics from a factual point of view. Normative ethics is the search for principles of moral behavior that are reasonable.



• Consequentialist theories claim that the morality of an action depends only on its consequences.



• Egoism is the consequentialist position that states the following: always act in such a way that your actions promote your best long-term interests.



• Act utilitarianism is the consequentialist position that states this: always act so that your actions produce the greatest happiness for everyone.



• Rule utilitarianism is the consequentialist position that states the following: always follow those rules that tend to produce the greatest happiness for everyone.



• Nonconsequentialist theories claim that the morality of an action depends on factors other than consequences.



• Divine command theory is a nonconsequentialist theory that enjoins us to follow the law of God. There are scriptural and natural law versions of divine command theory.



• Kant's categorical imperative is a nonconsequentialist position that states this: always act in such a way that your reasons for acting are reasons you could will to have everyone act on in similar circumstances, and always treat persons as ends and not merely as means.



• Buddhism emphasizes volition and ties morality to wisdom. Its moral code is expressed in precepts that invite followers to refrain from certain actions and to develop certain virtues.



• Virtue ethics identifies the character traits of the morally good person; it emphasizes the kind of person we should become instead of principles of action. Some virtue theories argue that male and female virtues differ.



• Application of the normative theories to issues such as abortion and euthanasia suggests that each theory provides important and distinctive insights into factors that should be taken into account when making moral decisions.



• The concept of moral responsibility is associated with the concept of excusability, which holds that there are circumstances under which we should excuse people for their decisions and conduct.



• In response to the claim that moral responsibility is not possible in a strictly deterministic universe, three main positions can be identified: determinism, libertarianism, and compatibilism.

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