Ethics Long Exam Finals Coverage

CONTENTS

Topic 6 Reason and Will, and Moral Theories and Frames 1

Topic 7 Virtue Ethics 4

Topic 8 Immanuel Kant and Theory of Rights 8

Topic 9 Utilitarianism, and Origin and Nature Theory 10

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I. Topic 6 (Difference of Reason and Will, and Moral Theories and Frames)
Source: Ethics Topic 6 PTB
A. Decision Making
1. An activity that will develop your will
B. Reason
1. Uses logic
2. The principle of consistency
3. Avoids fallacious reasoning to come up with a truthful and
accurate proposition
C. Will
1. Faculty of mind that is associated with decision making
2. A moral person is endowed with an intellect and will
3. The will is what disposes what the intellect proposes
4. How can Will develop?
a) Spoon feeding education
b) Banking Education
5. Free Will
a) Jean Paul Satre
(1) An individual person is nothing until he/she
starts making decisions
b) Is the capacity of rational agents to choose a course
of action from among various alternatives
c) Ability to choose between possible choices, the power
to act, speak, or think as one wants
d) When the will is free, there is freedom
D. Moral Frames and Theories
1. Moral Theory
a) Theory of how we determine the right and wrong
conduct
b) Provide the framework upon which we think and
discuss in a reasoned way, and so evaluate, specific
moral issues
c) Types of Moral Theories:
(1) Utilitarianism: A theory of consequences
(a) Theory that holds the best way to make a
moral decision is to weigh out the
possible outcomes of every choice
possible
(b) e.g Trolley SItuation
(2) Deontology: A duty-based moral philosophy
(a) Society needs rules in order to function
and a person can be called moral to the
extent that he abides by those rules
(b) Consequences are irrelevant; the motive
behind the act counts
(3) Relativism: A theory based on experiences
(a) No person’s morals are better or worse
than any other
(b) Moral philosophy that could differ
depending on where you grow up, and
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what may be right in your society, could

be very wrong in another person’s society
(c) E.g. Abortion
(4) Divine Command Theory: A higher power
(a) God is the ultimate arbiter of what
constitutes morality, and that without
God, we have no clear way of telling right
from wrong
(b) E.g Rape is good if God commands it
(5) Virtue Ethics: Always improve yourself
(a) Only good people can make good moral
decisions
(b) Best way to be moral is to constantly seek
to improve oneself
(c) E.g. response to a friend
(6) Egoism: A theory based on self-interest
(a) The best way for one to be morally good
is to act in accordance with one’s
self-interest
(b) Egoists believe that if everyone acts in
their own self-interest, then society is
likely to solve moral dilemmas to the
satisfaction of all parties
(c) E.g. truth telling
(7) Natural Rights Theory: Human Rights
(a) Every person is endowed with certain
inalienable rights, such as the right to life,
the right to own property, and the right to
liberty
(b) E.g. Right to Life
2. Moral Frame
a) Is how you see any given situation
b) Occurs when you position your thoughts in such as
way to convince yourself of the value of difficult
situations
c) Duty (Framework)
(1) Focuses on the duties and obligations that we
have in a given situation, and consider what
ethical obligations we have and what things we
should never do
(2) Advantages
(a) Creates a system of rules that has
consistent expectations of all people
(b) Focus on moral rules, so it might allow
the person to act ethically even if there
are bad results
(c) Works best in situations in which there is
a sense of obligation
(3) Disadvantages
(a) Can be cold and impersonal
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(b) Does not provide a way to determine

which duty should be followed
(c) Can be rigid in applying the notion of
duty to everyone regardless of personal
situation
d) Consequentialist (Framework)
(1) Focuses on the future effects of the possible
courses of actions, considering the people who
will be directly or indirectly affected
(2) Advantages
(a) Focuses on the results of an action, which
is a pragmatic approach
(b) Helps in situations involving many
people, some may have benefits while
others may not
(3) Disadvantages
(a) It is not always possible to predict the
consequences
(b) Makes people react negatively
(c) Allows heinous actions to be ethical
e) Love and Justice (framework)
(1) Concerned with what kind of person we should
be and what our actions indicate about our
character.
(2) Whatever a virtuous person would do in a
situation
(3) Advantages
(a) Used in situations to know what sort of
person one should act
(b) Allows a lot of behavior to be ethical
(c) Believes that one’s experience, emotion,
and thoughts can influence one’s
character development
(4) Disadvantages
(a) Is more to sort out disputes
(b) Is not good at helping someone to decide
what action to take
(c) Highlights the importance of role models
and education to ethical behavior
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II. Topic 7 (Virtue Ethics)

Source: Topic 7 PTB
A. Virtue Ethics
Note: Virtuous - morally good; decent; ethical; good
1. Ethical framework that is concerned with understanding
the good as a matter of developing the virtuous character
of a person.
2. Focuses on the formation of one’s character brought about
by determining and doing virtuous acts.
3. Principles
a) An action is only right if it is an action that a virtuous
person person would carry out in the same
circumstances
b) A Virtuous person is a person who acts virtuously
c) A person acts virtuously if they “possess and live the
virtues”
d) A virtue is a moral characteristic that a person needs
to live well
4. Good Points
a) It centers ethics on the person and what it means to
be human
b) It includes the whole of a person’s life
5. Bad Points
a) It doesn’t provide clear guidance on what to do in
moral dilemmas
b) There is no general agreement on what the virtues
are
B. Aristotle
1. 384-322 BCE
2. Born in Macedonia and studied under Plato in Athens
3. Considered to be the brightest among his class in the
Academy
4. Founder of Lyceum, his own school
5. Accomplishments
a) In Lyceum, he wrote numerous works on different
topics such as theoretical and practical sciences, and
logic
b) Known for tutoring Alexander the Great himself
c) His major work in moral philosophy is Nicomachean
Ethics
6. Telos
a) According to Aristotle, every act that a person does is
directed toward a particular purpose, aim or what the
Greeks called Telos.
b) For Aristotle, a person’s actions manifests a good that
he/she aspires for.
c) The good is considered to be the telos or purpose of
which all acts seek to achieve.
d) Hierarchy
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(1) Aristotle is aware that one purpose is done to

achieve an even higher purpose and so on, until
the highest purpose is reached
(2) In other words, the different goods that one
pursues form a hierarchy of teloi.
e) Aristotle, “The inherent purpose of each thing, the
ultimate reason for each thing being the way it is,
whether created that way by human beings or nature
(1) Man-Made Objects
(a) Every human artifact is made for some
purpose
(2) Natural Objects
(a) ‘What it was made for’ - which can be
observed
(3) Humans
(a) Telos of a human being is happiness, or
eudemonia (means something more like
‘fulfillment’, basically happiness)
f) Types of Telos
(1) Telos of Human Artifact
(2) Telos of Living Things
(3) Telos of Historical Trends
(4) Telos of Actions
g) Telos vs Techne
(1) Techne
(a) Art, skill, or technique
(b) Contrasted with telos as an alternate
explanation for the characteristics of
objects
(c) Human Artifacts
(i) Can be both telos and techne
(d) Natural Objects
(i) Cannot be explained by techne
7. Happiness and Virtue
a) Happiness
(1) Highest purpose and ultimate good of man
(2) Self-sufficient end
(3) True measure of well-being
(4) Other Opinions
(a) Attached with having wealth or power
(b) Associate with feelings that are
pleasurable
b) Virtue as a habit
(1) According to Aristotle, Virtue does not happen
overnight. Hence, we must practice it through
multiple acts.
(a) Practical Wisdom is needed as a guide to
live a morally virtuous life
(2) Habitually choose the good and consistently
does good deeds
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(3) Are habits. That is, once they are acquired,

they become a characteristic of a person.
(4) A person who has developed virtues will be
naturally disposed to act in ways that are
consistent with moral principles
C. Saint Thomas Aquinas
1. Medieval Thinker
2. Doctor of Roman Catholic Church
3. Dominican Friar who was the preeminent intellectual
figure of the scholastic period of the Middle Ages
4. Canonized in 1323
5. Accomplishments
a) Contributed to the doctrine of faith more than any
other
b) His Summa Theologiae, Aquinas’ magnum opus, is a
voluminous work that comprehensively discusses
Christian theology
6. Happiness as constitutive of Moral and Cardinal values
a) Certain form of happiness that can be obtained by
means of our natural principles
b) A supernatural happiness that can be obtained
through God’s power alone
7. Natural Law
a) Natural apprehension of man is good, its contrary is
evil
b) Natural Law and its Tenets
(1) Preservation of human being or natural
substances (In Common with Other Beings)
(a) We all have a desire to preserve one’s own
being. A makahiya leaf folds inwards and
protects itself when touched. Animals run
away when they feel they are in
danger or threatened. Humans have
the natural inclination to preserve their
own being.
(b) It is natural law to preserve human
life. It would be a violation of the
natural law if we take the life of another.
Promotion of human life is ethical
because it is in line with the natural law.
(2) ‘Nature has taught to all animals’ sexual
intercouse/reproduction (In Common with
Other Animals)
(a) It is in our nature to do sexual intercourse
and take care of one's offspring. This is
something we have in common with
animals.
(b) An ethical issue that is hotly contested
worldwide is whether abortion should be
acceptable. Based on natural law, this is
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an act of preventing emergence of new

life which is considered unacceptable.
(c) Questions arise if contraception can be
used because they allow the sexual act to
occur but inhibit procreation. According
to natural law, it is wrong and so are the
acts that do not lead to the creation of
offspring (homosexual/unisexual) acts.
(3) Nature of man’s own reason, the ability to
create his own decisions and beliefs (Uniquely
Human)
(a) We have an inclination to be good
according to the nature of our reason. We
have a natural inclination to know about
God and live in society
(b) Nobody is to simply say "Sex is natural," if
what they mean by that is just to engage
in the act in any way they want without
thought or care. We must make full use
of our reason to determine when the
performance of this is appropriate
(c) To simply put, any act that deviates
from the common good is considered
wrong/evil
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III. Topic 8 (Immanuel Kant and his Theory of Rights)

Source: Ethics Topic 8 PTB
A. Immanuel Kant
1. 18th Century German Philosopher
2. Deontologist
3. Known for his contributions in metaphysics and ethics
4. Works written
a) The Critique of Practical Reason (1781)
b) The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785)
c) Metaphysics of Morals (1797)
B. Categorical Imperative
1. Supreme rule over human deliberative action (Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2016)
2. Characterized as a general “Thou shall not”
3. Presented by Kant using four different formulations
a) The Formula of the Law of Nature
(1) Act only according to that maxim which you
can at the same time will that it should
become a universal law without contradiction
b) The Formula of the End in itself
(1) 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
C. Metaphysics of Morals
a) Doctrine of Right
b) Doctrine of Virtue
D. Conditions for something to be enforceable as right
a) Concerns only actions that have influence on other
persons
b) Does not concern the wish but only the choice of
others
c) Does not concern the matter of the other’s act but
only the form
E. Good Will
1. To be universally and absolutely good, something must be
good in every instance of its occurrence
2. Things which people call "good" can become "extremely
bad and mischievous if the will which is to make use of
them is not good"
3. Nothing can possibly be conceived in the world, oreven out
of it, which can be called good without qualification,
except a good will
4. To act out of a “good will” for Kant, means to act out of a
sense of moral obligation or “duty”
5. In other words, the moral agent does a particular action not
because of what it produces (its consequences) in terms of
human experience, but because he or she recognizes by
reasoning that it is morally the right thing to do and thus
regards him or herself as having a moral duty or obligation
to do that action.
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F. Legal Rights
1. Refer to a set of rights formulated and enforced by the legal
system of a government and are given as privileges to the
citizens according to the majority’s desire for the common
good of its citizens
2. We are entitled to this type of rights
3. Differ from person to person depending on their age,
nationality, country, etc.
4. Punishments and penalties for violations
G. Moral Rights
1. Granted in accordance with a universal ethical or moral
norm
2. Considered as morally correct or acceptable for the greater
good of humanity
3. Universal
4. Natural Rights
5. No exact punishment unless legalized as legal rights
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IV. Topic 9 (Utilitarianism, and Origin and Nature Theory)

Source: BSPT-1A-Ethics Topic 9
A. Utilitarianism
1. An ethical theory that argues for the goodness of pleasure
and the determination of right behavior based on the
usefulness of the action's consequences
2. Consequentialist
a) Consequentialism
(1) he general doctrine of ethics that actions must
be evaluated on the basis of their
consequences
3. Types
a) Act Utilitarianism
(1) Classical Utilitarianism
(2) States that in any given situation, you
should choose the action that produces the
greatest good for the greatest number
b) Rule Utilitarianism
(1) Suggests that we ought to live by the rules
that are likely to lead to the greatest good for
the greatest number
(2) An act is morally right if it conforms to a
justified moral rule
B. Foremost Utilitarian Thinkers
1. Jeremy Bentham
2. John Stuart Mill
C. Nature of Theory
1. It tends to promote happiness or pleasure and wrong if it
tends to promote unhappiness or pain
2. “What ought a person to do?”
3. Sovereign Masters
a) Pleasure
b) Pain
D. Principle of Utility
1. Refers to the motivation of our actions as guided by our
avoidance of pain and our desire for pleasure
2. Pleasure as good if, and only if, they produce more
happiness than unhappiness
E. Principle of the Greatest Number
1. Suggests that the best thing to do what contributes to
the greatest number of people
2. It is necessary to consider everyone's happiness,
including our own, as the standard by which to
evaluate what is moral
F. Felicific Calculus
1. A framework that calculates pleasure that some actions
produce
2. Duration
a) How long will it last?
3. Intensity
a) How intense is it?
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4. Propinquity
a) How near or remote?
5. Extent
a) How widely it covers?
6. Certainty
a) How probable is it?
7. Purity
a) How free from pain is it?
8. Fecundity
a) Lead to further pleasure?