Philosophy Ethics

a concept that there are universal values or set moral rules that apply to all creatures that can think. Some basic values are universal. Some core norms are used in different circumstances. It may lead to cultural imperialism.

there are no universal norms. All moral judgment have their origins either in societal or in individual standards, and no single standard exists by which once can assess the truth of a moral proposition. It is more respecting of diverse culture. Human nature is so complex that we cannot say what moral systems fir best. Diversity is too huge to unite people’s views about morality.

Culture dictates values

All norms are subjective.

(Ayn Rand) holds that reality exists independently of consciousness and that individual persons are in direct contact with reality through sensory perception. Human being can gain objective knowledge from perception through inductive and deductive logic.

the belief that all ethical thought and judgments about human conduct are shaped by an in many ways limited to perception. Ethical statements express the feelings, beliefs, preferences, and attitudes of the persons or groups making those statements.

the highest value is pursuing pleasure. Pleasure of happiness is the highest good.

only pleasure and pain motivate us. All human motivation is ultimately aimed at maximizing the net hedonic value of one’s own life.

all and only pleasure has value or worth and all and only pain has disvalue.

a system of ethics that evaluates actions in terms of their capacity to produce happiness. Places human happiness and the complete life of the individual at the center of ethical concern.

moral worth of an action is determined solely by its utility in providing happiness or pleasure as summed among all beings. It is a form of consequentialism which suggests that the moral worth of an action is determines by its outcome.

a theory proposed by Jeremy Bentham. A correct utilitarian decision procedure begins by considering the person most to be affect by the action in question, and then considering the pleasures or pains to be felt by that person along the first six parameters (the extent or number of persons involved, the purity or the suffering linked to labor, the intensity of pleasure, the durability, the fruitfulness, remoteness and certainty).

following rules that would bring more happiness. Evaluating which rule to follow.

individual actions performed in specific circumstances. Evaluating an action.

normative properties of an action depend only on consequences, which are the basis for any valid moral judgment about that action. The belief that there are no stable values and they constantly change.