Absolute Moral Principle

A moral principle that cannot be justifiably violated; 
A moral principle that cannot hold exceptions, such as time, place, and circumstance.
Absolute   absolutist

Absolutism

The thesis that there is only one set of correct moral standards, applicable to all. There is only one single truth.   

Absolutist:

The absolutist holds principles (Thou shalt not steal or lie) & makes no exceptions

Altruism, Ethical

One ought to act for the good of others

Altruism, Psychological

People are naturally inclined to act for the well-being of others. They will feed a crying baby or open a door for an individual loaded with packages.
Bishop Joseph Butler writes
  (l) We have the innate urge to help others (compassion)
  (2) Many of our desires are related to approval from others
  (3) We obey our conscience & avoid guilt

Asceticism

A life of self-denial, of abstinence of worldly pleasures.

Autonomy

With the use of reason, man can figure out what is right or wrong by himself, without appealing to external authority.

According to Kant, An autonomous being  is one endowed with self-governance, self-determination, a rational intellect,  and free will, and is thus capable of  determining his course in life.

Categorical Imperative

Imperative is a order or command
Categorical means without qualification
Therefore, according to Kant, it is a rule that must be followed by everyone, without exception. [Kant further claims that morality is a matter of reason and rationality.]

Character is the sum total of who you are (including your virtues and vices).
“The word character comes from a Greek very meaning “to engrave.”  A person’s character, then, is the visible sign of his inner nature.  Character is what we are beneath our personality (mask)..”The World’s Most Powerful Leadership Principle – How to become a servant leader By James Hunter  page 143  Crown Business, New York -  copyright 2004 

Philosophically speaking, our habits determine our character
Habit: repeated action 
 Virtue: repeated good action
    Vice: repeated bad action

Conscience

• "The sense or consciousness of the moral goodness or blameworthiness of one's own conduct, intentions, or character together with a feeling of obligation to do right or be good" (Webster's)
• Freud: Conscience is the repeated  voice of parents
• Christians: conscience is the voice of God. It is also the operation of the intellect that determines the rightness or wrongness of an action.

Consequentialism

Also known as teleology.
The moral worth of an action is judged by the extent to which the act accomplishes a purpose or an end.
Consequences determine the act's correctness.
Its opposite is nonconsequentialism or deontology.

Cultural Relativism

Values differ from culture to culture.

Deontological

"Deon" is the Greek word for duty
Deontological Theory is also known as the theory of obligation.
The rightness and wrongness of an act is based on the obligatory nature of the act; it is not based on the consequences.

An action is deemed right simply because it is right; one does not appeal to the consequences.

Deontology is also known as nonconsequentialism.
The opposite of deontology is consequentialism or teleology.

Descriptive Statements
or Empirical Statements

Stated factual beliefs. These can be derived from research or observation.
(John is helping the old lady cross the street and carrying her packaged.)
This is the opposite or an evaluative judgment, also called a normative judgment. (John should not accept a tip from  the poor lady for his act, even though he's only assisting to be on her will..)

Divine Command Theory

Certain actions are "right" because God wills these for us.
Certain actions are wrong because they do not correspond to God's will for us.
Moral values are determined and commanded by God

Double effect

An ethical theory often cited in medical ethics and in the ethics of just war (abortion, euthanasia and just war). It refers to doing an action (which is not wrong in itself)  that directly yields a good effect, yet a bad effect also ensues, though the bad effect  is not deliberately intended and there is a weighty reason for allowing the bad effect.
(i.e. (l) administering morphine to a terminal patient  to relieve pain, yet respiration is depressed & the patient dies  (2) removing a cancerous growth from a pregnant woman with the unintended effect that the baby dies)

Duty

Doing what you ought to do because it is your duty to do so (associated with Kant 1724-1804)

Egoism, Ethical

You ought to act selfishly and look out for your best interest. This may involve lying, cheating, deceiving others.

Egoism, psychological

Ethical Theory

"A systematic exposition of a particular view about what is the nature and basis of good and right." MacKinnon 9
Ethical theory is divided into three branches:
1. Normative Ethics: It asks what is right and wrong

2. Descriptive or Comparative Ethics: It describes what is observed, generally comparing differing cultures practices and views

3. Metaethics: It is the study of the meaning of ethical language. What does good mean,  right mean, morally justified mean, cruel and unusual mean... . ?

Ethics

Ethics , also called moral philosophy; and is the study and reflection of the various sets of values people have.

Solomon defines ethics as "the study of moral principles."

Eudaimonia

Aristotle's word for happiness - or fullness of life, well-being. The key to pleasure is in satisfying activities, a life well spent.
The Greek roots are “eu” meaning happy  and harmonious, and “daimon” meaning well spirited

Fallacies

An unreliable means of arguing. There are defects in the argument. It does not provide good, logical reasons for accepting a conclusion.  

It could be an appeal to emotion rather than to reason to divert attention away from the real issue.

Golden Rule

It is the claim that you should do unto others as you would want other to do unto you.

The Good

That for which one strives or one was created for, the "end"

Good Life

The good life is happiness, something wanted "for its own sake" and not "for the sake of anything else." (Aristotle)

What Aristotle meant by good life was “as a whole, an integrated life with all the virtues and good fortune and the philosophical wisdom to appreciate it…. A man who could keep his well-being in the midst of misfortune [would be considered] to be insane, not happy" . Happiness was the privilege of the "very powerful, and very rich, or very lucky."(Solomon, The Big Question, Fourth Edition, Harcourt Brace, page 243)

Hedonism

A philosophy which states   that one should strive to get as much pleasure out of life as one possibly can.

Individual Relativism

The rightness or wrongness of an action depends on the individual's own commitments and views

(Mill says happiness is the only thing we desire for its own sake.)

Metaethics

Analyzing moral language. What does good mean, morally justified mean, cruel and unusual... .

Moral

That which is right or good, i.e., a right action or a good person 

Moral Ballpark/Arena

The domain of actions and, motives that is open to moral assessment and thereby judged as  morally good or morally bad. It is man’s intellect that brings him into the moral arena and makes him capable of moral actions. In contrast, the stingray that killed Steve Irwin is not a morally responsible and cannot enter the moral ballpark.

Moral Philosophy

"The search for the best way to live and the  right principles for our actions" (Solomon)

Moral Pluralism

The belief that there is more than one good, such as justice, kindness, honesty, harmony, peace, honoring promises and commitments. The difficulty arises when there are competing goods, i.e., preserving harmony by saying the meal is delicious or the dress is beautiful when the opposite is true or breaking a commitment because a value of a higher good presents itself.

Moral Realism:

"There exists a reality independent of those who know it."   MacKinnon

For example, regardless of what  we (or a pervert) may think, it is wrong to sexually abuse or torture an innocent child. This moral truth exists regardless or whether or not we know or acknowledge it.

Moral Values

"those values that give voice to the needs and legitimate expectations of others, as well as ourselves. 'legitimate expectations' may be of many sorts: we rightly expect to be treated with respect, for instance, and with honesty and care." (Weston, Anthony  A Practical companion to Ethics,  Third Edition, Oxford , 2006 page 3)

Morality

From the Latin Moralis, meaning "customs or manners."

"Rules for right action and prohibitions against wrong acts" (Solomon) . These guide us in our actions Do this; Don't do that.  The Ten commandments.

Morality gives us the rules by which we live with other people. It sets limits & tells us what is permitted.  (Solomon, page 249)

Normative ethics
(Evaluative Ethics)

The study of what people ought to do.  
Placing values, such as good and bad, better, worse. A question might be, "Are abortion and capital punishment justified and should they be practiced?) - (as opposed to metaethics which would ask, what does morally justified mean,)

Objectivism (or nonrelativism or objective truth)

There is  objective truth that rises above and is independent of relativistic  opinion. Adherents state this can be rationally proven.

Philosophical Ethics

The use of reason and experience to determine what is good and bad, as opposed to using feeling, intuition & religion.

Philosophy

From the Greek meaning “Love of Wisdom”;  it is the rational pursuit of truths conceived as answers to perennial questions." (Great Minds of the Western Intellectual Tradition, The Teaching Company, page 6)

Pleasure

According to Aristotle, pleasure is something which accompanies satisfying activities.

Pluralism
(Ethical Pluralism)

"The acceptance of the coexistence in a society of several different ethical value systems whether or not they actually contradict one another" (Solomon 358).  It is based on the premise that each theory captures only a part of the infinite truth because no theory can grasp all or infinite truth. Unlike relativism, it does not give equal weight to all views.

Pluralistic Society

A society with different customs, religions and beliefs.
We are a mixed salad rather than a melting pot

Premise

A statement whose truth is used to infer that of others;

Major premise: Socrates is a man.
Minor premise: All men are mortal.
Conclusion: So Socrates is mortal.

Relativism

The view that moral truths are not absolutely true but true relative to a particular society or individual. Whether something is right depends on the moral norms of a society or of the individual.

Relativism, cultural

According to cultural relativism, the rightness or wrongness of an action depends on a culture’s  norms.  (It is good to price items

Relativism, 
(Normative Ethical Relativism)

Relativism, 
(Descriptive Ethical Relativism)

There are no universal and essential moral values; all is relative to particular societies or people.  (also called descriptive ethical relativism)  (No stand is taken as to whether or not these beliefs are accurate.)  

This is in contrast to Moral Absolutism where there are objective  universal moral values.

Skepticism

Skepticism states it is  difficult and sometimes impossible to find the truth. (MacKinnon 22)

Supervenient

 That which flows from another quality. - Goodness flows from  courage.

Teleological

From the Greek telos, meaning purpose
The moral worth of an action is judged by the extent to which the act accomplishes a purpose or an end.
Consequences determine the act's correctness.
If the result is good, then the act is right.
If the result is bad, then the act is wrong.

Tolerance

Acceptance of different and relative values.
Advocates of tolerance defend the absolute value of tolerance (getting along), and thus reject strict relativism.

Universality

According to Kant, the test of a moral principle's rationality.
If a principle is rational, it should hold true universally.

Utilitarianism

A moral theory claiming what is morally  right is whatever produces the greatest overall amount of pleasure (hedonistic utilitarianism) or happiness (eudaimonistic utilitarianism).
Act utilitarians claim  we should weigh the consequences of each individual action.
Rule utilitarians hold that we should look at the consequences of adopting particular rules
Preference utilitarianism: The best action satisfies the most preferences (either in themselves or in their strength), i.e. democracy.
Cost-Benefit Analysis: The policy that is the least costly compared with the expected benefits is best. (How much do we spend to keep schools, roads , bridges, parks, &cars safe?)

Values

Traditionally a value has been a good, a moral principle, The contemporary view is values are qualities and principles that are good, like kindness, generosity, love…

Value System: 

 The total of all your values.