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POPULAR NOTIONS OF MORALITY

POPULAR NOTIONS OF MORALITY. WHAT AM I TO DO?. WHAT IS THE RIGHT CHOICE?. IS IT RIGHT?. IS IT WRONG? Or IS IT RIGHT?. Contemporary Moral Trends. Might is right Morals are mores The individual is the measure The human Race is the basis of right Right is moderation

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POPULAR NOTIONS OF MORALITY

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  1. POPULAR NOTIONS OF MORALITY

  2. WHAT AM I TO DO? WHAT IS THE RIGHT CHOICE? IS IT RIGHT? IS IT WRONG? Or IS IT RIGHT?

  3. Contemporary Moral Trends • Might is right • Morals are mores • The individual is the measure • The human Race is the basis of right • Right is moderation • Right is what brings pleasure • Right is the greatest good for the greater number • Right is what is desirable for it's own sake • Right is indefinable • Right is what God wills

  4. DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS or ETHICS OF DUTY Ethical Systems the theory of duty or moral obligation “What one is compelled to do by reason of duty”

  5. The most famous deontological theory was advanced by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Kant claimed that various actions are morally wrong if they are inconsistent with the status of a person as a free and rational being, and that, conversely, acts that further the status of people as free and rational beings are morally right.

  6. One of the most important implications of deontology is that a person's BEHAVIOR can be wrong even if it results in the best possible outcome. And an ACT can be righteous even if it results in a negative outcome.

  7. deontology insists that HOW people accomplish their goals is usually more important than WHAT people accomplish. In contrast to CONSEQUENTIALISM, a philosophy famous for its claim that THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS.

  8. CHARACTERISTICS UNIVERSAL WHAT IS RIGHT OR WRONG FOR ONE PERSON IS THE SAME FOR ANY OTHER PERSON ANYTIME, ANYWHERE

  9. RATIONAL THE TEST FOR THE RIGHTNESS OF AN ACTION IS REASON

  10. CATEGORICAL ABSOLUTE UNQUALIFIED WITHOUT CONDITION

  11. CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE IMPERATIVE any proposition that declares a certain action or inaction to be necessary. HYPOTHETICAL IMPERATIVE Compels action in a given circumstance “If I wish to satisfy my thirst, then I must drink something” CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE Denotes an absolute, unconditional requirement that exerts its authority in all circumstances “It is wrong to commit murder”

  12. PRINCIPLES OF THE CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE Act only according to that maxim by which you can also will that it would become a universal law. Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end. Act as though you were through your maxims a law-making member of a kingdom of ends.

  13. ALTRUISM is a code of ethics which holds the welfare of others as the standard of "good" and self-sacrifice as the only moral action.

  14. The unstated premise of the doctrine of altruism is that all relationships among men involve sacrifice This leaves one with the choice between maliciously exploiting the other person or being "moral" and offering oneself up as the sacrificial victim.

  15. INTRINSICISM is the belief that VALUE is a non-relational characteristic of an object. This means that an object can be valuable or not, good or bad, without reference to who it is good or bad for, and without reference to the reason it is good or bad.

  16. SUBJECTIVISM The belief that values are subjective. This means that values are whatever we choose to pursue and whatever we desire.

  17. It means there is no such thing as good or evil, except what you think is good or evil. If you believe something is evil, that's just your own personal preference. It is not, and cannot be, a statement about reality.

  18. COLLECTIVISM The concept of value requires a purpose and a beneficiary. It requires answers to the questions "Value to whom?" and "Value for what?"

  19. Collectivism says value to the collective, whether that is society, tribe, family, nation, race, sex, or any other group or category one "belongs" to. The standard of good is that which benefits the group

  20. PACIFISM the moral principle which advocates that the use of force is wrong for any reason. This applies to both the initiation of force, as well as defensive or retaliatory force.

  21. If your life is being threatened, pacifism holds that you should not defend yourself. If someone has stolen from you, pacifism holds that you should not retrieve your property. If someone has murdered other people, pacifism holds that nothing should be done about it.

  22. HUMANISM Expresses renewed confidence in the power of man to respond positively to his own problems and so discover new things for himself

  23. Humanism entails a commitment to the search for truth and morality through human means in support of human interests. In focusing on the capacity for self-determination, humanism rejects dependence on faith, the supernatural or divinely revealed texts.

  24. ANARCHISM Expresses man’s freedom to express himself without repression of any kind. Freedom is the highest attainment of a humanity

  25. Anarchism is centered on rejection of any form of compulsory government and supporting its elimination The term "anarchism" is derived from the Greek word αναρχια"without archons" or "without rulers“

  26. EXISTENTIALISM Emphasizing action, freedom, and decision as fundamental existentialism is opposed to rationalism and positivism. i.e., argues against definitions of human beings as primarily rational. Essentialism: Life is essentially meaningful. Existentialism: Life is not essentially meaningful; but, it is, or can be, existentially meaningful.

  27. Existentialists look at where people find meaning. Existentialism asserts that people actually make decisions based on what has meaning to them rather than what is rational. “The highest attainment of man is to find his own unique vocation” Soren Kierkegaard

  28. EUDAIMONISM Comes from the Greek word eudaimonia which means happiness Refers to any conception of ethics that puts human happiness and the complete life of the individual at the center of ethical concern.

  29. UTILITARIANISM the ethical doctrine which believes that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to overall utility. Utility, the good to be maximized, whatever brings the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people has been defined by various thinkers as happiness or pleasure versus suffering or pain.

  30. PRAGMATISM Pragmatism was a philosophical tradition that originated in the United States around 1870. The most important of the ‘classical pragmatists’ were Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914), William James (1842–1910) and John Dewey (1859-1952). the meaning of concepts is to be sought in their practical bearings the function of thought is to guide action truth is preeminently to be tested by the practical consequences of belief

  31. Ethical System Relativism • theory, especially in ethics or aesthetics, that conceptions of truth and moral values are not absolute but are relative to the persons or groups holding them.

  32. Cultural Relativism The concept of cultural relativism contains the following claims: • There is no objective “truth” in morality. Right and wrong are only matters of opinion, and opinions vary from culture to culture • There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one societal code better than another.

  33. ETHICAL SYSTEMS • Virtue Ethics • Happiness is achieved through the development of “good habits:” intellectual (for example knowledge) and practical action and emotion (for example courage). • “Golden Mean” – neither excess nor deficiency. • Seeks to develop individual character. A good person will make a good decision. • Ethical Egoism • Focuses on the pursuit of self-interest in human conduct. • Example escape a duty to save a drowning person, when I can easily do so, just because the drowning person (or anyone watching) happens never to be able to offer fruitful cooperation or retaliation.

  34. Hedonism • What brings pleasure to an individual is good. • is the claim that all and only pleasure has worth or value, and all and only pain has disvalue.

  35. Ethical Systems “Demand not that events should happen as you wish, but wish them to happen as they do happen, and you will go on well.” (Epictetus) • Determinism • Everything is caused and determined (even human actions and choices) by previously existing causes that preclude free will and the possibility that humans could have acted otherwise. • Fatalism • Stoicism • Theonomous Ethics: Morality and religion go together • Divine Command • Being good is doing whatever a sacred text tells you. • Christian Ethics • Looking at the person of Christ as the norm of all thought and action.

  36. Contemporary Moral Trends • Might is right • Relativism • Hedonism / Egoism • Collectivism • Morals are mores • Cultural Relativism • The individual is the measure • Relativism / Subjectivism • Egoism • The human Race is the basis of right • Humanism • Right is moderation • Aristotle’s “Golden Mean” or the Virtue of Ethics

  37. Contemporary Moral Trends • Right is what brings pleasure • Hedonism / Egoism • Right is the greatest good for the greater number • Utilitarianism • Right is what is desirable for it's own sake • Deontological Ethics • Altruism • Right is indefinable • Ethical Relativism • Subjectivism • Determinism • Right is what God wills • Theonomous Ethics

  38. References • Ismael Ireneo Maningas. Filipino Christian Morality. St. Pauls, 1998. • Karl Peschke. Christian Ethics. • Professor Dean R. Bork. Fundamentals of Ethical Systems.Lecture Notes. http://www.lar.arch.vt.edu/Resources/courses/LAR-3034/Notes/Ethics.html • Louis D. Whitworth. Measuring Morality: A Comparison of Ethical Systems. Probe Ministries, 1995. http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/measmor.html • “Ethics” Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe 2004. • “What is Secular Humanism?” Council for Secular Humanism. Last updated 8/11/2004. http://www.secularhumanism.org/intro/what.html

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