My Dictionary
Chapter 1
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Morals: the beliefs and ideas a person has about what is right or wrong to do
Ethics: the area of philosophy that deals with questions about morality and assesses the
rightness or wrongness of actions and decisions
Morality: a system of norms, values, and rules that regulates the manner in which human beings
treat one another
Moral reasoning: a decision-making process that requires persons to use criteria such as moral
values, moral principles, and/or the anticipated moral consequences of actions to determine
whether a particular action is right or wrong, or whether we have a moral obligation to act ina
particular manner toward others
Strategic reasoning: a decision-making process in which the decision made/action taken is based
on that which will bring the greatest advantage or reward to an individual or that individual’s
‘in-group’
Altruistic: looking beyond one’s own good in determining the right action to take in a certain
situation; living for the good of others; doing good and not expecting anything in return
Non-moral reasoning: does not require that you decide between actions that are morally good
or bad, or ethically right or wrong
Decision maker: person who settles an issue
Moral values; particular traits that help people act well toward others, including honesty,
justice, kindness, respect, beneficence, and compassion
o Honesty: telling the truth
o Justice: fairness
o Beneficence: being kind to others
o Compassion: merciful; suffering with another
o Fairness: just; impartial
o Integrity: uprightness of character; being honest
Moral goodness: condition of virtuousness; relates to persons and their character traits
Moral dilemma: a situation that calls for actions to determine which option is morally best
Moral obligation: include judgments that people make that affect people’s relationships and
dealings with one another, and that bring the moral value of their motives, intentions, and
character traits under scrutiny
Strategic obligation: the type of judgment that is arrived at through a process of strategic
reasoning that requires people to examine the possible consequences of actions to determine
which action will bring the greatest advantage to them personally or to the group they
represent
Consequences of actions: that which naturally follows an action; a result
Bracketed morality: a morality that grants sport participants additional moral freedom when
involved in a sporting contest than what is expected outside of sporting contests
Equal opportunity: the same chance
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Safety: protection from harm
Winning at all costs: placing winning ahead of all else
Moral egocentrism: in sport, the tendency to interpret the sporting world in terms of self.
Putting one’s own interests or the team’s interest ahead of others, often times to a non-moral
end
Egoistic: self-interested; devoted to own interests and advancements
Argument: a form of reasoning; a set of statements explaining what a person believes is true
and why they believe it is true
Premises: statements explaining why someone believes something
Conclusions: statements asserting what someone believes
Strategic Reasoning Decision-making Model
o Step 1: describe the moral problem in detail
o Step 2: determine your possible options given the circumstances
o Step 3: determine which option serves your own interests best
o Step 4: engage in the action that best serves your own interests
Psychological hedonism: the theory claiming that human beings will seek out actions bringing
them the most pleasure and absence of pain
Psychological egoism: the view that the ultimate aim of each person is his or her own selfinterest
Consequentialism: contending that the consequences of actions are the primary element in
determining the right action to take in a given situation
Hedonism: the doctrine that pleasure is the most important pursuit in life
Happiness: as described by Mill, the intended pleasure and the absence of pain
Utilitarianism: a universal form of hedonism; when you are faced with a moral decision, you
should choose the act that will bring the greatest amount of happiness to the greatest number
of people
o Greatest happiness principle: actions are right based on their creation and promotion of
the greatest amount of happiness
Best interests: bringing about the most good for everyone
Consequentialist Decision-making Model
o Step 1: describe the moral problem in detail
o Step 2: determine your possible options given the circumstances
o Step 3: determine who will be affected by each option, and how they will be affected
o Step 4: determine which option will bring the greatest amount of good to the greatest
number of people
o Step 5: engage in the action that brings the greatest good to the greatest number of
people
Virtues: values; good qualities
Social Values: values such as teamwork, discipline, diligence, and leadership; the cultivation of
social values alone is not enough to guarantee the fostering of moral reasoning or action
o Teamwork: working together
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o Discipline: a systematic self-control directed toward accomplishment
o Diligence: hard working
o Leadership: being able to guide
Welfare: the best interests or well-being of a group or individual
Teleological Decision-making Model
o Step 1: describe the moral problem
o Step 2: determine the moral values that an individual in your capacity should posses
o Step 3: determine how a person who has these moral values would act given the
circumstances
o Step 4: engage in the action that the morally good person in your capacity would engage
in
Teleological moral theory: rooted in the work of Aristotle; requires that you consider your
purpose as a human being by determining the moral values that make up a morally good person
Moral principles: statements prescribing or proscribing particular types of action
Deontological moral theory: a form of ethics that believes actions that are considered “good for
me are good for all”; the golden rule
Categorical imperatives: universalizable principles that are good and under which one would
want anyone to act
Hypothetical imperative: principles calling for the action that leads to achievement of a desired
state, consequence, or desire
Deontologically based decision-making model
o Step 1: describe the moral problem
o Step 2: determine your options given the circumstances
o Step 3: develop a general moral principle based upon each option
o Step 4: determine which principles are universalizable
o Step 5: prioritize the universalizable principles according to their moral importance
o Step 6: act on the universalizable principle recommended by your moral reasoning