Untitled Quiz

Study Notes

Virtue Ethics: Focuses on developing good character traits, not rules or consequences.
- Key Figure: Aristotle
- Golden Mean: Midpoint between excess and deficiency of a virtue (eg. Courage is between recklessness and cowardice)
- Eudaimonia: Human flourishing or happiness, considered the highest good.
Natural Law Ethics: Ethics grounded in human nature and reason, actions are naturally oriented toward specific goals.
- Key Figure: Thomas Aquinas
- Principles: Actions are determined by the order of nature and rational human nature.
- Ultimate End: Happiness achieved through virtuous living.
- Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Courage.
Divine Command Theory: Ethics based on God's will, where moral values are determined by divine commands.
- Key Figure: Augustine of Hippo
- Euthyphro Dilemma: Is an action good because God commands it, or does God command it because it is good?
Deontological Ethics (Duty-Based): Ethics that focuses on adherence to duties and rules.
- Key Figure: Immanuel Kant (not directly covered but relevant contextually).
Consequentialism: Ethics that emphasize the outcomes or consequences of actions to determine their morality.
- Key Figures: Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill (Utilitarianism).

Confucian Ethics: Focuses on self-cultivation and social harmony.
- Mandate of Heaven: Just rulers are granted divine right based on their moral integrity.
- Doctrine of the Mean: Balance and moderation in one's conduct.
- Five Constant Relationships: Emphasizes roles and responsibilities in familial and social contexts.
Buddhist Ethics: Emphasizes the cessation of suffering and cultivation of compassion.
- The Middle Way: Avoids extremes of self-indulgence and self-denial.
- Compassion and Non-Attachment: Core virtues in Buddhist ethics.
Islamic Ethical Thought:
- Key Figure: Ibn Sina (Avicenna)
- Reconciliation: Harmonized Islamic ethics with Greek philosophy, integrating reason and revelation.

Machiavellian Ethics: Advocates for pragmatic and sometimes ruthless strategies in achieving power.
- Key Figure: Niccolò Machiavelli
- Principle: "The ends justify the means."
Nietzschean Ethics: Challenges traditional morality, promoting self-assertion and the "will to power."
- Key Figure: Friedrich Nietzsche
- Concept: Übermensch (Overman): The ideal individual who creates their own moral standards, transcending conventional values.

Analyzing Real-World Scenarios Using Different Ethical Theories:
- Virtue Ethics: Focuses on character and intentions.
- Natural Law: Considers human nature and rationality.
- Divine Command: Aligns actions with God's will.
- Confucianism: Upholds social harmony and roles.
- Buddhism: Evaluates based on compassion and reduction of suffering.
- Machiavellianism: Pragmatic actions for power.
- Nietzscheanism: Self-assertion and transcending societal norms.

Virtue Ethics vs.Eastern Philosophies
- Virtue Ethics: Cultivates character based on reason.
- Confucianism: Cultivates social roles and harmony.
- Buddhism: Cultivates virtues to end suffering.
Natural Law vs.Divine Command
- Natural Law: Rooted in human nature and rationality.
- Divine Command: Rooted in obedience to God's will.