CEMD Notes PDF

Ethical Foundations: Action Ethical Theory Motives Theoretical Foundation Worldview: PAST (Philosophy, Anthropology, Sociology and Theology) What is Ethics? It is about making decisions about moral issues. A system of ethics seeks to establish norms...

Ethical Foundations: Action Ethical Theory Motives Theoretical Foundation Worldview: PAST (Philosophy, Anthropology, Sociology and Theology) What is Ethics? It is about making decisions about moral issues. A system of ethics seeks to establish norms to determine right and wrong behaviour. A person’s ethical system consists of moral principles and rules of conduct. What is Morality? Morality is primarily concerned with questions of right and wrong, the ability to distinguish between the two and the justification of the distinction. Closely related are such questions as: What is a good person? What things are morally praiseworthy? What constitutes a good life? And what would a good society look like? Although both lead to right and wrong conduct: Ethics takes into consideration external rules and may vary between environments. Morals consider an individual's personal principles and rarely change. How Do We Make Decisions About Wrong and Right?  Our ethical systems come from: religion, politics, money and economic and social/relational Ethics as a Discipline: Helps us make everyday ethical decisions better In ethics, right means something different than correct. Correct is the label we attach to information that is factually true, while right is oriented to moral truth. Links closely to other areas of study. For example, conclusions about medical ethics need the relevant medical facts. Nonetheless, the right ethical decision involves more than just correct information. It is how we move from information to ethical decisions that is of concern in ethical systems. Words Associated With Ethics: Ought Prescriptive Should Ethical Theory: Guides and evaluates our own actions Evaluate actions and theories of others Part of worldview (social imagery): A worldview is a system of beliefs and assumptions about how the world fits and works together. Sometimes ethical beliefs and assumptions are inconsistent with worldview. Examples of Worldviews: Christian Worldview, Humanitarianism, Marxism Ethical Theory (Applied Ethics): Euthanasia Abortion Capital Punishment Homsexuality (among others)