Ethical Theories and Morals

Ethics Overview

• Ethics investigates moral principles and dilemmas, establishing guidelines for right and wrong conduct.
• Morals reflect societal standards of acceptable behavior, enabling cooperative living in groups.

Importance of Studying Ethics

• Understanding ethical theories helps navigate complex moral dilemmas and decision-making contexts.

Ethical Theories

Deontology

• Focuses on adhering to rules to differentiate right from wrong.
• Associated with philosopher Immanuel Kant.
• Advocates following universal moral laws, e.g., prohibitions against lying, stealing, or cheating.

Consequentialism

• Assesses morality based on the outcomes of actions.
• Criticized for unpredictability of consequences, making it difficult to determine ethicality beforehand.

Utilitarianism

• A subset of consequentialism that judges actions based on their outcomes.
• Asserts that the most ethical choice produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Hedonism

• Centers on pleasure and the avoidance of pain as the core determinants of morality.
• A form of consequentialism with variations, including:
  • Normative hedonism: focuses on ethical standards of pleasure.
  • Motivational hedonism: emphasizes desire for pleasure.
  • Egotistical hedonism: prioritizes self-interest in pleasure.
  • Altruistic hedonism: values the pleasure of others equally.

Social Contract Theory

• Proposes that individuals coexist in societies based on an implicit agreement outlining moral and political rules.
• Aims to foster harmony and cooperation within societal structures.

Virtue Ethics

• Developed by Aristotle and early Greek philosophers, focusing on moral character.
• Emphasizes that virtue can be cultivated through practice and experience in ethical living.

Ethical Fading

• Describes a phenomenon where the ethical aspects of a decision become obscured or irrelevant in the decision-making process.