Jeriza Dana M. Junio

ITETHICS

 

Chapter 2:

Ethical Concepts and Ethical Theories: Establishing and Justifying a Moral System

 

Review Questions:

 

1.) What is Ethics, and how can it be distinguished from Morality?

                - Ethics is derived from Greek ethos, and the term morality has its roots in the Latin mores. Ethics is the stud of morality while morality is a system of rules for guiding human conduct and principles for evaluating those rules.

 

2.) What is meant by a moral system? What are some of the key differences between the “rules of conduct” and the “principles of evaluation” that comprise a moral system?

                - It is a system comprising moral rules and principles. Rules of conduct are action- guiding rules, in the form of either directives or social policies. Principles of evaluation is an evaluative standards used to justify rules of conduct.

 

3.) What does Bernard Gert mean when he describes morality in terms of a “public system”? Why is the notion of “personal morality” an oxymoron?

                - He claims that everyone must know what the rules are that define it.

 

4.) Why does Gert believe that morality is an “informal” system? How is a moral system both similar to, and different from, a game?

                - Gert points out, a moral system has no formal authoritative judges presiding over it. Unlike games in professional sports that have rules enforced by referees in a manner that approaches a legal system, morality is less formal. A moral system is like a game of cards or like a pick up game in baseball or basketball. Here, the players are aware of the rules, but even in the absence of a formal official or referee to enforce the game’s rules, players generally adhere them.

 

5.) Describe how the ideals of “rationality” and “impartiality” function in Gert’s moral system.

                - A moral system is rational in that it is based on principles of logical reason accessible to ordinary persons

                - A moral system is impartial in the sense that the moral rules are ideally designed to apply equitably to all participants in the system.

 

6.) What are values, and what are some of the key differences between the moral values and non moral value?

                - Values are objects of our desires of interest. Moral values need to be distinguished from the broader set of non moral values.

 

7.) How do religion, law, and philosophy each provide different grounds for justifying a moral principle?

                - RELIGION: Stealing is wrong because it offends God or because it violates one of God’s Ten Commandments.

                - LAW: Stealing is wrong because it violates the law.

                - PHLOSOPHY: Stealing is wrong because it is wrong

 

 

8.) What is the method of philosophical ethics, and what is a “philosophical study”? How is a philosophical study used in an analysis of moral issues?

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9.) How does a philosophical study differ from a descriptive study? Why are sociological and anthropological studies of morality usually descriptive rather than normative in nature?

                - Philosophical studies differ from scientific studies in the following way: Whereas scientists typically conduct experiments in a laboratory confirm or refuse one or more hypotheses, philosophers have no physical laboratory to test ethical theories and claims. Instead philosophers confirm or reject the plausibility of a certain claim or thesis by testing it against the rules of logical argumentation.

 

10.) Summarize the four different kinds of “discussion stoppers” in ethical discourse that we examined.

                - People disagree on solution to moral issues

                                - Fails to recognize hat experts in many areas disagree on key issues in their fields.

                                - Fails to recognize that there are many moral issues on which people disagree.

                                - Fails to distinguish between disagreements about principles and disagreements

                                   about facts.

                - Who am I to judge others?

                                - Fails to distinguish between the act of judging and being a judgemental person.

                                - Fails to distinguish between judging as condemning and judging as evaluating.

                                - Fails to recognize that sometimes we are required to make judgements.

                ­- Morality is simply a private matter

                                - Fails to recognize that morality is essentially a public system.

                                - Fails to note that personally- based morality can cause major harm to others.

                                - Confuses moral choices with individual or personal preferences.

                - Morality is simply a matter for cultures to decide

                                - Fails to distinguish between descriptive and normative claims about morality.

                                - Assumes that people can never reach common agreement on some moral

                                   principles.

-  Assumes that a system is moral because a majority in a culture decides it is moral.

 

11.) Why are these discussion stoppers problematic for the advancement OF dialogue and debate about ethical issues?

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12.) What is moral relativism? How is it different from cultural relativism?

                - Moral Relativism is a normative thesis because it asserts that one should not make moral judgements about the behaviour of people who live in cultures other than one’s own. Cultural relativism is essentially a descriptive thesis.

 

13.) What is ethical theory, and what important functions do ethical theories play in the analysis of moral issues?

                -  Ethical theory provides us with a framework for analyzing moral issues via a scheme that is internally coherent and consistent as well as comprehensive and systematic.

 

14.) What are the distinguishing features of consequence- based ethical theories?

- Some have argued that the primary goal of a moral system is to produce desirable consequences or outcomes for its members. For these ethicists, the consequences of actions and policies provide the ultimate standard against which moral decisions must be evaluated.

15.) Describe some of the key differences between act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism.

- Act utilitarianism look to the expected outcomes or consequences of an act to determine whether or not that act is morally permissible.

- Rule utilitarianism argue that the consequences that result from following rules or principles, not the consequences of individual acts, ultimately matter in determining whether or not a certain practice is permissible .

16.) Which features distinguish duty- based ethical theories from alternative types of theories?

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17.) Describe some of the main differences between act deontology and rule deontology.

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18.) What is meant by the expression “contract- based” ethical theories?

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19.) What features distinguish “character- based” (“or virtue- based”) ethical theories from alternative schemes of morality?

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20.)  How does James Moor’s “Just Consequentialist” theory incorporate aspects of utilitarian and deontological theories into one comprehensive framework?

                - Moor believes that only an ethical approach that combines considerations of consequences of action with more traditional deontological considerations of duties, rights, and justicecan provide us with a defensible ethical theory – Just Consequentialism – that yields a useful framwork for applied ethics.

Discussion Questions:

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