Download Frances Celine J. Tan How do descriptive (empirical) claims and

Frances Celine J. Tan
1.) How do descriptive (empirical) claims and perspective (normative) claims differ? Give
examples of each kind of claim.
Normative –They can go one way the other, and choose a direction when one acts. Also the
claims can be perspective and evaluative.
EG. For many it is not uncommon downloading music on a torrent bay for free although it is
illegal.
Descriptive – it describe a state of affairs in the world. Hence they can be verified or proven
false by looking and seeing.
EG. XX represent the Chinese population in the Philippines who are businessman/ owner of a
business.
2.) Describe a discussion of a moral issue that is currently receiving attention in the media.
Identify different claims and arguments that were put forward and defended. List the claims
in an order that illustrates a dialect about this issue, with on claim and argument leading to
another claim and another argument, and so on. Are there some claims that are still actuality
presented in the media that have, in your judgment, already been rejected in the dialect?
3.) Explain the difference between “ethics is relative” as a descriptive claim and as a normative
claim.
Ethics is relative as a normative claim when, individuals or groups make decisions and act the
more they know about the state of the world the better. On the other hand ethics is relative as
descriptive claim when, it is about the conditions in the world, conditions that can be examined
to see whether the claim is accurate.
The difference between these two ; the normative claims is an accurate and passive act in the
society that will have greater affection in the society when there are changes, hence the
descriptive claims is an judgment of most of the people then having the instantaneous of the
facts particular is substantiated or confirmed false by seeing the mockup records.
4.) What evidence can be used to support “ethics is relative” as a descriptive claim?
The evidence can be used to support “ethics is relative” is a claim about what people think and
do. The evidence is the beliefs, rules and practices that varies from the culture and from time to
time.
5.) What are the three problems with “ethics is relative” as a normative claim?
5.1) Normative ethical relativists have a variety of ways to articulate and defend their claim, in
some several of ethical relativism seems to slip into inconsistency and even self-contradiction.
5.2) Normative ethical relativists claim is that we ought to follow the rules of our society, then
what is being claimed is antithetical to a good deal of human experience with moral heroes.
5.3) Normative ethical relativists claims does not provide much help in making moral decisions,
especially not with decisions in though situation.
6.) What is the basic principle of utilitarianism?
It is a theory claiming that what makes behavior right or wrong depends wholly on the
consequence, for this reasons it is also often categorized as a form of “consequentialism”. Thus
the important is about the human manners is the out imminent it results of the manners and
not the intent of a person has when he / she acts.
7.) What is the difference between an instrumental good and an intrinsic good?
The instrumental goods it is not a value for its own sake, but rather has value means for
acquiring other things. On the other hand intrinsic goods are not valuable as means to
something else, hence they are valuable to ourselves.
8.) Why do utilitarians believe that happiness is the ultimate basis for morality
It is a ultimate basis for morality, because it is valuable for its own sake. Happiness can’t be
understood by other person without experiencing the same thing as the other person has
undergone. Everything action we do, in the end of the subject it has a result of satisfaction to
ourselves that result to a happiness of or own actions.
9.) What is the difference act-utilitarian and rule-utilitarian?
The rule-utilitarian put an emphasis on individual actions rather than rules. It is believed that
even though it may be difficult for us to anticipate the consequences of our actions, that is what
we oath try to do. While the act-utilitarian simply has the “rules of thumb”, they take the rule to
be strict, they denote the rules in term of the happiness consequence that rules people from
following them in strictly right manner.
10.) What is the major criticism of utilitarianism? Explain it using an example other than the
distribution of scare medical resources.
There may be circumstances in which some people / thing should be sacrifices for the sake of
total happiness of other that has good effect.
The example of this case is selling the child with parents don’t have money to attend the
medication of the child because of the extreme ill of the child. For the child not to undergone
serious ill the parents sold the child to a wealthy family who wants to adopt their child, in
exchange for a larger sum of money rather seeing their child dying in a ill sickness which they
don’t have the money to cure the illness of their child.
11.) What is unique characteristic of human being according to deontologists? How is this quality
connected to morality?
The unique characteristic of human , is what makes an action right or wrong for deontologists is
the principle of inherent in an action, that is form a sense of duty, that is universalized then it is
an action of right.
12.) What is the categorical imperative? Give two examples of violations of categorical imperative.
The categorical imperative according to Kant’s philosophy, it specifies “that we should never
treat human beings merely as means to ends. We should always treat human beings as ends to
themselves.”
13.) How can rights be based on deontological theory? How can rights be based on utility theory?
The deontological theory asserts that there are some actions that are always wrong no matter
what the consequence.
According to deontologists point out that happiness cannot be the highest good for humans.
The fact that we are rational beings, that is capable of reasoning about what we want to do and
then deciding and acting, suggesting that our end is something other than happiness.
Hence, the utilitarian note that all humans seek happiness, deontologists emphasized that
humans are creatures whit goals who engage in activities directed toward achieving these goals,
and that they use their rationality to formulate their goals and figure out what kind of life to live.
14.) What is the veil of ignorance in the original position in Rawl’s social contact theory?
The veil of ignorance in the original position in Rawl’s social contact theory, that the “rights” is
hypothesized to explain and justify the obligations that human beings have to one another. Also
he recognized that we can’t arrived an account of justice and the fairness of social arrangements
by reasoning about what rules particular individuals would agree.
15.) What are the two principles of justice in Rawl’s theory?
The two principle of justice according to Rawl’s theory:
1.) Each person should have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a
similar liberty for others.
2.) Social and economic inequalities should be arranged so that they are both ;
a. Reasonably expected to be everyone’s advantage.
b. Attached to positions and offices open to all.
16.) How does virtue ethics theory differ in focus from other theories discussed in this chapter?
Virtue according to Greeks, means “an excellence and ethics was concerned with the excellence
of human character.” As such in the theory, seem to fill up the gap left by other theories we
considered, because it addresses the question of moral character, whereas the other theories
focus primarily on action and decision making.
17.) What is analogical reasoning? Give an example of how it can be used in computer ethics.
The analogical reasoning is to consider similar situations in which there isn’t a computer or IT
related and examine whether the absence of the technology makes a moral difference.
The example case is the break in between the computer files of a person without knowledge of
access of the other person but just to scan all the files and know what are the files were stored
in the hard disk file, and the other example is trying to open the door of the car which was
parked in the car park and try to sit down inside the car to see the installation of the gear of that
sports car. Hence both actions cause a damage of property without the consent of the property
owner.
18.) Why should we always use caution when arguing on the basis of analogies?
We should always use caution when arguing on the basis of analogies, because all the facts or
evidence that will undergone in a series of evaluation of arguments or a case study of action
analogy it is interconnected in all kinds of aspects. Hence every arguments that we have formed
and developed is inter connected and in the future debate or study we will still find it easy to
prove with the right caution of action that we have used in the case.