Philosophy of Ethics Chapter 1

Questions and Answers

What is ethics?

Ethics is the discipline concerned with what is morally good and bad and morally right and wrong.

What does morality define?

What is financially beneficial

What is right and wrong about our actions (correct)

What is socially popular

What is legally acceptable

What does it mean to be 'good'?

To be good means to align with moral values that society generally accepts as positive.

Ethics has always been viewed as a branch of philosophy.

True Signup and view all the answers

Ethics deals with questions at all levels of ___ decision-making.

practical Signup and view all the answers

What is one major concern of ethics?

The nature of ultimate value and the standards by which human actions can be judged. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following areas is ethics distinct from?

Physics Signup and view all the answers

What is pleasure considered to be in relation to goodness?

Pleasure is necessary for anything to be truly enjoyable and is a fundamental part of what can be considered good. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Philosophy of Ethics

Ethics, known as moral philosophy, examines concepts of good and bad, right and wrong.
It addresses fundamental questions about how to live, the pursuit of happiness, virtue, and moral obligations.
Ethical dilemmas include issues like honesty for a good cause, inequality in wealth, justification of war, cloning, and obligations to future generations and nonhuman beings.
The scope of ethics encompasses practical decision-making and evaluation of human actions based on normative theories.
The terms "ethics" and "morality" are closely related but can refer to different aspects: ethics as the study of morality, and morality as the practice of moral judgments.
Ethics intersects with other disciplines but remains distinct as it focuses on normative theorizing rather than factual knowledge.

Morality

Morality refers to the human attempt to delineate right from wrong and good from bad in actions and intentions.
Moral decisions reflect personal values; for example, finding a large sum of money poses ethical dilemmas that reveal one’s moral principles.
Understanding morality begins with defining 'good', which serves as a foundation for moral reasoning.
Common notions of goodness might include enjoyable experiences like food, sleep, and companionship, but these do not fully capture the essence of morality.
Classical approaches to defining goodness are built on five fundamental elements, which assist in discerning what qualifies as morally good.

Pleasure

Pleasure is a core aspect of ethics; without it, enjoyment and a sense of goodness cannot be achieved.
The expression of pleasure goes beyond simple hedonism ("if it feels good, do it") and requires deeper consideration of what contributes to genuine enjoyment and goodness in life.

Description

Explore the foundational concepts of ethics in this quiz based on Chapter 1 of the Philosophy of Ethics. Discuss the definitions of moral philosophy, values, and social norms, and understand their relevance to future law enforcement professionals. Prepare to delve into the complexities of what is considered morally right and wrong.