Major ethical theories and their core principles
20 cards · philosophy
Sign up to start studying this deck
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| Utilitarianism | Right actions maximize overall happiness or utility Associated with Bentham and Mill; assess outcomes, not intentions. |
| Act utilitarianism | Judge each act by its utility consequences An act is right if it produces the best overall results in that case. |
| Rule utilitarianism | Follow rules that maximize utility if generally adopted A rule is right when widespread compliance yields the best outcomes. |
| Deontology | Rightness depends on duties and rules, not consequences Kant: morality comes from rational duty rather than results. |
| Categorical imperative — universal law | Act only on maxims you can will as universal laws Test a maxim by asking if it could be coherently universalized. |
| Categorical imperative — humanity | Treat persons always as ends, never merely as means Respect the rational agency and dignity of every person. |
| Virtue ethics | Morality centers on character and cultivating virtues Aristotle: aim at eudaimonia through habituated excellence. |
| Doctrine of the mean | Virtue is a mean between excess and deficiency Example: courage lies between rashness and cowardice. |
| Natural law | Good is to be pursued in accord with human nature and reason Moral norms derive from human purposes; classically linked to Aquinas. |
| Double effect | Harm may be permitted as a side effect, not as a means Requires good intention, proportionality, and no better alternatives. |
| Care ethics | Emphasizes relationships, care, and context over rules Highlights dependency and responsiveness; Gilligan and Noddings. |
| Social contract theory | Norms arise from agreements among free and equal agents Legitimacy stems from consent—Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Rawls. |
| Veil of ignorance | Choose principles without knowing your social position Rawls’s impartiality device to secure fairness. |
| Difference principle | Inequalities are just only if they aid the least advantaged Rawls’s second principle, with fair equality of opportunity. |
| Moral relativism | Moral truth is relative to culture or individual outlook Contrasts with moral objectivism; debates concern tolerance and critique. |
| Trolley problem — switch | Lever diverts the trolley, killing one to save five Many judge this permissible; probes outcome-focused reasoning. |
| Trolley problem — footbridge | Push one person to stop the trolley and save five Often judged impermissible; tests means vs. side effects. |
| Prisoner’s dilemma | Rational self-interest yields mutual defection and loss Models tensions between cooperation and individual incentive. |
| Experience machine | A life of mere pleasure may not be truly best Nozick’s thought experiment challenges hedonism and simple utilitarianism. |
| Euthyphro dilemma | Is the good willed by God, or does God will the good? Challenges divine command theory; raises issues for moral grounding. |