Normative Ethical Theories Overview

Normative Ethical Theories

• Doctrine of Double Effect: Distinguishes between intended and unintended consequences. Harmful effects are permissible if not intended, while pursuing a good end.

• Utilitarian Response to Demandingness: Utilitarianism requires maximizing utility, but not sacrificing oneself to the point of exhaustion – individuals can pursue their well-being.

• Three Theories of Welfare:

• Hedonism: Maximizing pleasure, minimizing pain.

• Desire Satisfaction: Satisfying one's desires.

• Objective List: Achieving specific objective goods (knowledge, friendship, achievement).

• Williams' Integrity Objection: Consequentialism can demand actions violating personal integrity, forcing someone to act against their beliefs for a better outcome.

• Positive vs. Negative Duties:

• Positive Duties: Actions to help others.

• Negative Duties: Refraining from harmful actions.

• Situationism and Virtue Ethics: Situationism suggests actions are more influenced by situations than character traits, challenging the assumption that virtues consistently guide actions.

• Kant's Rejection of the Golden Rule:

• Golden Rule: Treating others as you wish to be treated.

• Kant's Categorical Imperative: Treating others as ends in themselves, not merely as means. He found the Golden Rule too subjective.

• Prima Facie vs. Proper Duties:

• Prima Facie Duties: Seem binding, potentially overridden by stronger duties.

• Proper Duty: Duty definitively required after considering all factors.

• Eudaimonia: Aristotle's concept of flourishing – living in accordance with reason and virtue, not just pleasure.

Metaethical Arguments and Distinctions

• Open Question Argument: Moral properties are distinct from natural properties (e.g., happiness). "Is something good?" is a distinct question from whether it is also happiness.

• Synthetic Naturalism Response: Moral properties can be reduced to natural properties, but in a complex way. "Good" represents a complex natural property, not a single natural fact.

• Analytic/Synthetic Distinction:

• Analytic Statements: True by definition.

• Synthetic Statements: Need empirical evidence or experience to verify.

Who Counts and How?

• Non-Identity Problem: Actions affecting future persons' identities. Does creating a worse-off person due to a decision constitute moral harm if they wouldn't otherwise exist?

• Marginal Cases: Moral status of humans with severe cognitive impairments compared to more capable humans. This often leads to discussions of animal moral status.

• Fred and Factory Farming: Norcross's argument; torturing puppies for pleasure is morally comparable to factory farming, making consumption morally wrong.

• Causal Impotence Objection: Individual actions (e.g., not eating meat) are insignificant compared to the large-scale practice. Norcross emphasizes the moral significance of avoiding contribution to harm, even if individual actions seem small.

• Moral Patients vs. Moral Agents:

• Moral Agent: Capable of making moral decisions, accountable.

• Moral Patient: Capable of being harmed or benefited, but not necessarily of moral decision-making (infants, animals).

Explore the key concepts of normative ethical theories, including the Doctrine of Double Effect, utilitarian responses, and theories of welfare such as hedonism and desire satisfaction. This quiz will also delve into the implications of Williams' integrity objection and the distinctions between positive and negative duties. Enhance your understanding of ethical frameworks and their applications.