Download Ethical theories: How do we decide what is morally

Ethical theories: How do we decide what is morally right to do?
Utilitarianism:
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Focus on consequences, defined as happiness, defined as pleasure
What is meant by ‘pleasure’, including Mill’s higher and lower pleasures
Bentham’s utility calculus (hedonic calculus) (and other possible ways to measure pleasure?)
Key features of Act, Rule and Preference Utilitarianism
Criticisms:
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Ignores individual liberty/rights
Problems with calculation (unforeseen circumstances, unrealistic to measure pleasure,
Bentham is wrong to say all pleasures are good, but Mill’s way round this is elitist and thus
flawed)
Ignores the value of motive and character
Ignores the relevance of particular relationships having greater moral weight
Kantian Deontology
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Focus on intention, which should be to do one’s duties, which are worked out using reaso,
Reason generates maxims that can be universalised with contradiction
Categorical imperatives (contrasted to hypothetical imperatives)
First and second formulations of categorical imperative
Criticisms:
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Ignores the relevance of consequences
Applying the principle leads to counter-intuitive or trivial maxims being created
Clashing / competing duties
Ignores the value of emotions and commitments to family and friends
Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics
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Focuses on the development of a good character
‘The good’ for human beings, function argument and Eudaimonia (not pleasure)
The role of education / habituation in developing a moral character
Voluntary and involuntary actions and moral responsibility
The doctrine of the mean and Aristotle’s account of virtues and vices
Criticisms:
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Debatable whether it can provide sufficiently clear guidance on how to act
Possibility of clashing / competing virtues
Possibility of circularity in defining virtuous acts and virtuous people in terms of each other
Critical application of the three theories in relation to:
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Crime and punishment
War
Simulated killing (within computer games, films, plays etc.)
The treatment of animals
Deception and the telling of lies
Ethical language: what is the status of ethical terms and moral judgements?
Cognitivism: the view that ethical language makes claims about reality which are true or false
(fact-stating)
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Moral realism: ethical language makes claims about mind-independent reality that are
true
Cognitivist moral realist theories:
o Ethical naturalism (utilitarianism)
o Ethical non-naturalism (intuitionism)
Cognitivist anti-realist theory:
o Error theory: ethical language makes claims about mind-independent reality that are
false (Mackie’s argument from queerness)
Non-cognitivism: ethical language does not make claims about reality which are true or false
(fact-stating)
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Non-cognitivist, anti-realist theories:
Emotivism: ethical language expresses emotions (Hume & Ayer)
Prescriptivism: ethical language makes recommendations about action (Hare)