Normative Ethics: Principles and Guidelines

A general theory or principles that can be applied to various situations to guide our actions based on a certain idea of what is good or right.

Applied ethics applies the principles of normative ethics to specific moral problems, such as abortion or euthanasia, to provide concrete answers.

The three branches of ethics are concerned with figuring out what is good or right, and how to act accordingly.

<p>Normative ethics develops general principles, which are then applied to specific moral problems, such as abortion, drug laws, or euthanasia, through applied ethics.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>To provide a consistent and coherent framework for moral decision-making that can be applied to various situations.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Most cultures accept norms against killing, stealing, and lying.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The 'golden rule' states that one should treat others the way they want to be treated.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Cultural relativism claims that anything that is socially approved must thereby be good.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The analogy is made with the scientific method and the possibility of knowing the truth about whether it rained on a particular spot 500 years ago.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Respecting cultural differences does not imply that anything that is socially approved is good, whereas cultural relativism does.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>It implies that there are objective moral truths that can be used to evaluate local standards.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Moral realism claims that some things are objectively right or wrong.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>King appealed to a higher truth about right and wrong that doesn't depend on human thinking or feeling, thus implying that racism is objectively wrong.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The counterargument is that morality is a product of culture, so it can't be objectively true; however, this is refuted by the idea that a product of culture can still express objective truths, just like a book can express objective truths.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The counterargument is that since cultures disagree widely about morality, there can't be objective moral truths; however, this is refuted by the idea that mere disagreement doesn't show that there's no truth of the matter, and that cultures may still have more in common than they think.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The text suggests that cultural differences do not necessarily imply that there is no objective moral truth, and that there may be a higher truth about right and wrong that transcends cultural differences.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Learning about other cultures can help us to correct our cultural biases and move closer to the truth about how we ought to live.</p> Signup and view all the answers