Overview of Terms – Descriptive Ethics, Normative Ethics, Meta Ethics
You will be able to write a short definition of each term, writing sentences which demonstrate your understanding.
Texts: Robert Bowie' Ethical Studies' P 5-6; ' Teach Yourself Ethics' (TYE) pp31-32
Extra Reading: P Vardy and P Grosch 'The Puzzle of Ethics' (PoE) pp109-112
– a more detailed look at normative ethics and some of its subdivisions.
Texts: Bowie p 6-7; TYE p31
Deontology (Absolutism) Key words: Duty, Obligation, Command.
Right and wrong are truths external to humans, and humans have the obligation to order their lives in accordance with these standards.
Texts: Bowie pp 12, 37-38, 54 (Kant and absolutism)
Teleology (Consequentialism) Key words: Consequence, outcome, purpose.
Right and wrong actions can be identified either by assessing their consequences (Utilitarian theory) OR by assessing whether those actions further their primary purposes eg Human Wellbeing (Aristotle)
Texts: Bowie pp 37-38
Relativism (Situational, Cultural) Key words: Situation, culture, pragmatism, individualism
There are no moral absolutes –that is, no action is intrinsically right or wrong. Individual decisions must be taken on the basis of a particular situation (situational relativism) or determined by cultural norms. (cultural relativism)
Texts: Bowie pp 14-17 p100-102 (Joseph Fletcher and Situation Ethics)
You will be able to write a descriptive paragraph on each type of ethical system, including the name of at least one philosopher who has developed ethical thinking along those lines and giving practical examples of statements and situations to demonstrate your understanding of those systems
What do we mean by such terms as Good, Bad, Truth, Falsehood, Right, Wrong, etc. Can such terms have any real meaning, and if so, how are those meanings to be discovered and measured?
Texts: Bowie P8 (G E Moore) p77-78 (A J Ayer) TYE pp32ff PoE 76ff Extra Reading: PoE 110-112