Ethics Notes
Ethics (See Below)
Kant's Categorical Imperative/Ross's Prima Facie Duties
What is Ethics?
• Ethics is the study of morality.
• Ethics deals with morality but it is not the same of morality.
• Morality consists of the standards that an individual or a group has about what is right and wrong or good and evil.
• Moral standards deal with matters to which we attach great importance
• A person’s moral standards come from a variety of sources: parents, school, TV etc.
So what is Ethics?
• Ethics begin when a person reflects on the moral standards of society and asks whether these standards are reasonable or unreasonable - are they supported by good reasons or poor ones?
• Is it important to always tell the truth? Is it sometimes permissible to lie? What makes lying wrong?
Ethical Relativism
• This holds that moral right and wrong depend on the culture a person belongs to.
• This theory implies that we cannot say that one culture’s moral beliefs are any better or worse than another’s.
• There will be three broad groups we will examine in this unit
– Consequentialist theories
– nonconsequentialist theories
– virtue theories
Consequentialist Theories
• These say that the morality of an action depends on its results or consequences.
• The theory of egoism is concerned with the best consequences for self, utilitarianism is concerned with the best consequences for everyone.
Nonconsequentialist Theories
• These maintain that the morality of an action depends on factors other than consequences, such as moral rules or God’s commands.
• Divine command theory is concerned with obeying the laws of God, whereas Kantian theory says that we should always treat people as ends & never use them as means.
Virtue Theories
• These state that morality depends not on rules or on the consequences of actions, but on our character.
• In ethics it does not matter what we do but the kind of people we are.
Questions
• Do you feel that you have chosen your own moral values, or have your moral values been imposed on you by your parents, peers, school and society?
• To the extent that your moral values are imposed on you, can you do anything about changing them? What?
• Explain the difference between ethics & morals.
