MATSEC SEC Ethics key terms

The branch of philosophy that studies the nature and meaning of moral language and moral judgement itself, asking whether moral claims can be true or false and what would make them so.

The branch of ethics that builds and tests general standards for right and wrong action, producing theories such as consequentialism, deontology and virtue ethics that guide how people ought to behave.

The branch of ethics that examines concrete moral problems in specific fields, such as medicine, business, environment and technology, using general moral theories to reach practical judgements.

The view that at least some moral statements are objectively true or false independently of what anyone believes or feels, because moral facts exist in their own right.

The view that moral truth depends on the standards of a particular culture, society or individual, so that no single moral code applies to everyone everywhere.

The position that certain actions are always right or always wrong regardless of circumstances or consequences, leaving no room for exceptions in particular cases.

A metaethical theory holding that moral statements express the speaker's feelings or attitudes rather than describing facts, so saying something is wrong means roughly 'I disapprove of it'.

A metaethical theory, associated with R. M. Hare, holding that moral language is primarily prescriptive: to call something good is to commend it and to guide action, not merely to report a feeling.

The metaethical view that moral properties are natural properties, reducible to facts about pleasure, human needs or flourishing, and therefore knowable through ordinary observation and reasoning.

The supposed error of defining 'good' in terms of natural properties such as pleasantness, since any such definition can always be challenged by asking whether the natural thing really is good.

Hume's observation that purely descriptive statements about what is the case cannot by themselves entail prescriptive conclusions about what ought to be done without an added evaluative premise.

A family of normative theories judging the rightness of an action solely by its consequences, so that the best action is the one producing the best overall outcome.

A consequentialist theory, developed by Bentham and Mill, holding that the right action maximises overall welfare or happiness, weighing every affected person's interests equally.

The version of utilitarianism that assesses each individual action separately, asking whether that particular act produces the greatest total welfare in the situation at hand.

The version of utilitarianism that judges actions by their conformity to rules whose general adoption would maximise welfare, allowing rules to override welfare in particular cases.

In ethics, the view that pleasure is the only intrinsic good and pain the only intrinsic evil, so that welfare is measured by the balance of pleasure over pain.

A normative approach, strongly associated with Kant, that judges actions by whether they fulfil duties and respect rules, rather than by the goodness of their results.

Kant's supreme moral principle, commanding unconditionally: act only on maxims you could will as universal law, and treat humanity always as an end, never merely as a means.

The test of asking whether the principle behind one's action could consistently be adopted by everyone, a central feature of Kantian ethics and of prescriptivist moral reasoning.

A command that applies only if one has a particular goal, such as 'if you want to pass, study', in contrast with moral requirements that bind regardless of desire.

An approach rooted in Aristotle that focuses on character rather than rules or outcomes, asking what a virtuous person would do and how habits of good character are cultivated.

Aristotle's term for human flourishing or living well, the ultimate goal of life achieved through the exercise of virtue and reasoned activity over a complete lifetime.

Aristotle's idea that each virtue lies between two vices of excess and deficiency, so courage sits between recklessness and cowardice, and virtue is found by reasoned judgement.

The virtue of phronesis: the ability to perceive what a situation calls for and to choose the appropriate action, integrating moral principles with sensitivity to particular circumstances.

A situation in which an agent faces two or more conflicting moral obligations and cannot satisfy all of them, so that whatever is chosen involves some moral cost.

The capacity of agents to make choices and act on their own reasoning, a condition widely held to be required before people can be held morally responsible for what they do.

The thesis that every event, including human choices, is caused by prior conditions, raising the question of whether moral responsibility and free will can survive if this is true.

The position that free will and moral responsibility are compatible with determinism, because freedom means acting according to one's own desires without external constraint, not escaping causation.

The condition of being answerable for one's actions and their consequences, usually requiring that the agent acted freely, knowingly and without coercion.

The capacity and right of a person to govern themselves, making decisions about their own life and body according to their own values, free from controlling interference.

Interfering with a person's choices for their own good, as when a doctor overrides a patient's wishes or a state restricts behaviour to protect people from harm.

The ethical and legal requirement that a competent person receive adequate information about risks and alternatives and voluntarily agree before treatment, research or other significant intervention.

The field of applied ethics dealing with moral questions raised by medicine, healthcare and biological research, including consent, allocation of scarce resources and end-of-life care.

The moral obligation to act for the benefit of others, promoting their welfare and preventing harm, one of the four standard principles of biomedical ethics.

The principle of avoiding causing harm to others, often expressed as 'first, do no harm', and distinguished from beneficence, which concerns actively promoting good.

In ethics, the principle of giving each person what is due, including fair distribution of benefits and burdens, equal treatment of equals and impartial resolution of competing claims.

The part of justice concerned with how goods, opportunities and burdens should be shared among people, debated by egalitarian, libertarian and utilitarian theories of fair allocation.

The widely found moral principle that one should treat others as one would wish to be treated, offering a simple test of reciprocity in everyday moral reasoning.

The act of evaluating an action, person or situation as right, wrong, good or bad, drawing on moral principles, facts and the capacity to weigh particular circumstances.