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A) ETHICS - Is The Branch Of: Philosophy Conduct

The document defines ethics, values, and attitudes. It then discusses several major ethical theories: 1) Plato's moral theory which relates to one's moral psychology and virtues. 2) Thomas Aquinas' ethics which are based on virtue and perfection of powers. 3) Kant's deontological theory based on duty to the moral law and the categorical imperative. 4) John Rawls' theory of justice which reconciles liberty and equality in a well-ordered society. The document also briefly explains egoism, utilitarianism, and other ethical theories.

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Patrick Alcantara
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33 views

A) ETHICS - Is The Branch Of: Philosophy Conduct

The document defines ethics, values, and attitudes. It then discusses several major ethical theories: 1) Plato's moral theory which relates to one's moral psychology and virtues. 2) Thomas Aquinas' ethics which are based on virtue and perfection of powers. 3) Kant's deontological theory based on duty to the moral law and the categorical imperative. 4) John Rawls' theory of justice which reconciles liberty and equality in a well-ordered society. The document also briefly explains egoism, utilitarianism, and other ethical theories.

Uploaded by

Patrick Alcantara
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ALCANTARA, PATRICK ROY A.

ASSIGNMENT NO.1

MAY

31, 2016
CS411 2JEF

MR. JP

S. PAULINO

I.

Define and explain


a) ETHICS - is the branch of philosophy that involves systematizing,
defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. It
investigates the questions "What is the best way for people to live?"
and "What actions are right or wrong in particular circumstances?" In
practice, ethics seeks to resolve questions of human morality, by
defining concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and
vice, justice and crime. As a field of intellectual enquiry, moral
philosophy also is related to the fields of moral psychology, descriptive
ethics, and value theory.
b) VALUES
Important and lasting beliefs or ideals shared by the members of a
culture about what is good or bad and desirable or undesirable. Values
have major influence on a person's behavior and attitude and serve as
broad guidelines in all situations.
c) ATTITUDES
A predisposition or a tendency to respond positively or negatively
towards a certain idea, object, person, or situation. Attitude influences
an individual's choice of action, and responses to challenges,
incentives, and rewards (together called stimuli).

II.

Research and explain the most common ethical theories


a) ANCIENT GREEK, PLATO

One of Ancient Greeks greatest philosophers is Plato. He has formed


the first institution of higher learning by building an Academy in Athens.
He has developed countless theories but the one that is well known is
his Moral Theory. The theory mostly relates to the complexity ones
moral psychology and virtues.
b) MEDIEVAL, THOMAS AQUINAS
St. Tommaso dAquino was an Italian doctor of the church. Hes also
known as an immensely influential philosopher, theologian and jurist.
He has attempted to synthesize Aristotelian Philosophy with the
principles of Christianity. His ethics are based on the concept of first
principle of action that states that Virtue denotes a certain perfection
of a power.
c) IMANNEL KANT
Kantian ethics refers to a deontological ethical theory ascribed to the
German philosopher Immanuel Kant. The theory, developed as a result
of Enlightenment rationalism, is based on the view that the only
intrinsically good thing is a good will; an action can only be good if its
maxim the principle behind it is duty to the moral law. Central to
Kant's construction of the moral law is the categorical imperative,
which acts on all people, regardless of their interests or desires. Kant
formulated the categorical imperative in various ways. His principle of
universalisability requires that, for an action to be permissible, it must
be possible to apply it to all people without a contradiction occurring.
His formulation of humanity as an end in itself requires that humans are
never treated merely as a means to an end, but always also as ends in
themselves. The formulation of autonomy concludes that rational
agents are bound to the moral law by their own will, while Kant's
concept of the Kingdom of Ends requires that people act as if the
principles of their actions establish a law for a hypothetical kingdom.
Kant also distinguished between perfect and imperfect duties. A perfect
duty, such as the duty not to lie, always holds true; an imperfect duty,
such as the duty to give to charity, can be made flexible and applied in
particular time and place.

d) RAWL THEORY OF JUSTICE


John Rawls A Theory of Justice mostly covers political philosophy and
ethics. It argues the principled reconciliation of liberty and equality that
is meant to apply to the basic structure of a well-ordered society.
e) EGOISM
Ethical egoism is the normative ethical position that moral agents
ought to do what is in their own self-interest. It differs from
psychological egoism, which claims that people can only act in their
self-interest. Ethical egoism also differs from rational egoism, which
holds that it is rational to act in one's self-interest. Ethical egoism holds
that actions whose consequences will benefit the doer can be
considered ethical.
f) UTILITARIANISM
Utilitarianism is a theory in normative ethics holding that the best
moral action is the one that maximizes utility. Utility is defined in
various ways, but is usually related to the well-being of sentient
entities. Originally, Jeremy Bentham, the founder of Utilitarianism,
defined utility as the aggregate pleasure after deducting suffering of all
involved in any action. John Stuart Mill expanded this concept of utility
to include not only the quantity, but quality of pleasure, while focusing
on rules, instead of individual moral actions. Others have rejected that
pleasure has positive value and have advocated negative utilitarianism,
which defines utility only in terms of suffering. Utilitarianism is a form of
consequentialism, which states that the consequences of any action are
the only standard of right and wrong. This view can be contrasted or
combined with virtue ethics which holds virtue as a moral good. Some
believe that one's intentions are also ethically important. Utilitarianism
is distinctly different from other forms of consequentialism such as
egoism as it considers all interests equally. Proponents of utilitarianism
have been split about whether individual acts should conform to utility
(act utilitarianism) or whether agents should conform to ethical rules
(rule utilitarianism). Utilitarians additionally remain split about whether
utility should be calculated as an aggregate (total utilitarianism) or an
average (average utilitarianism).

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