Chapter 2; Intro to Ethics

Definitions:

Society: People organized under a system of rules, often being morality.

Morality: A society’s rules of conduct.
Ethics: Unbiased systematic scientific examinations and analysis of human morality and behavior.
It focuses on people’s voluntary, moral choices.

A Workable ethical theory is a theory produces explanations that might be persuasive to an audience. It
must be logical.

There are 10 Ethical Theories (technically 9, Utilitarianism is divided into 2):

A. Non Workable Ethical Theories:

1. Relativism regards that there are no universal norms of right and wrong.

2. Subjective Relativism regards that each person defines what is right or wrong for themselves.
These ideals don’t apply to everyone.

3. Cultural Relativism argues that what is right and wrong varies according to the society and culture
it’s in. Different cultures will have different ideals and morals.

4. Divine Command Theory takes all its moral decision making from holy books. Actions that align
with God’s will are good, actions against it are bad.

5. Ethical Egoism argues that each person should focus exclusively on his or her self-interest. Morally
right actions are whatever action provides thy self with maximum long-term benefit.

B. Workable Ethical Theories:

6. Kantianism focuses on the importance of Good Will. It is about the desire to do the right thing. It
considers that willing to do good is the only right moral choice. It divides all actions into Perfect
and Imperfect Duties. Perfect Duties are duties you are obliged to fulfill without any exception.
Imperfect Duties are ones you are generally obliged to fulfill, but not in every instance. The
supreme rational principle (Categorical Imperative) he developed focuses on:
Universality: Your actions should be something you’d want as a universal moral law.
Humanity: Treat people as the final end goal, not a means to an end.
Autonomy: Actions should apply Universality and Humanity at the same time.

7. Act Utilitarianism is about Utility and being useful. This school of thought argues that the
consequences should be measured, if the benefits exceed the harms, it’s a good moral action, if
the harm outweighs the benefits, it’s a bad moral choice. It is about increasing the happiness of
the affected party. It is a consequentialist theory which focuses on the consequences of the
actions, not their intent.
8. Rule Utilitarianism is derived from Act Utilitarianism but applies on moral rules rather than
individual actions. We must adopt moral rules which will lead to the greatest increase in total
happiness if followed by everyone.

9. Social Contract Theory is the view that persons’ moral obligations are dependent upon a contract
or agreement among them to form the society in which they live. By living in a society, we accept
those rules enforced by the government, and should respect and follow them regardless of our
personal ideals. Only works in a fair just society. Divides rights into 4 parts:
Negative Right: A right you get by being left alone.
Positive Right: A right you get by others doing something.
Absolute Right: A right that is yours without any exceptions.
Limited Right: A right that is given or taken on case to case basis.

10. Virtue Ethics is a critique of the past 4 Workable Theories that tries to address the ethical
considerations that they ignore. It is mainly based on Aristotle, and it is about reaching the highest
potential you can as a person; i.e Virtue. Considers Virtue to be 2 main types, Intellectual
(reasoning and truth) and Moral (character) Virtue. By reaching your best possible potential, you
reach pure happiness. You reach your potential by living your best life and making people around
you happy.