Ethics
• Ethics—The study of morality using the
tools and methods of philosophy.
• Morality—Concerns beliefs about right and
wrong actions and good and bad persons
or character.
• Philosophy—The systematic exploration of
life’s big questions using critical thinking
and logical argument.
The Nature of Morality
• Morality is normative.
• Moral norms have:
– Overridingness
– Impartiality
– Universality
– Reasonableness (reason-driven)
Feelings
• Emotions can help us empathize with
others and enlarge our understanding of
moral decisions.
• But feelings are too often the product of
our psychological needs, cultural
conditioning, and selfish motivations.
• Critical thinking is the corrective.
Obligations and Values
• Moral obligations concern our duty—our
actions.
• Moral values concern things we judge to
be morally good, bad, praiseworthy, or
blameworthy—character or motives.
• Actions are morally right or wrong.
• Persons are morally good or bad.
Right, Wrong, & Supererogatory
• Right can mean “permissible”; a permissible
action is allowed, is not wrong to perform.
• Right can mean “obligatory”; an obligatory action
is required, would be wrong not to perform.
• Wrong means “prohibited”; a prohibited action
would be wrong to perform.
• An action that is “above and beyond” our duty—
one not required but that is praiseworthy—is
supererogatory.
What Is the Purpose of Morality?
Lord of the Flies—William Golding
• Portrays a dystopia
• Suggests that human nature is depraved
• Shows that morality is necessary
What Is the Purpose of Morality?
On the Nature and Purpose of
Morality —Louis Pojman
Key purposes of morality:
• To keep society from falling apart
• To ameliorate human suffering
• To promote human flourishing
What Is the Purpose of Morality?
On the State of Nature —Thomas
Hobbes
• Human beings always act out of perceived selfinterest.
• Only an absolute sovereign can establish or
ensure peace and civil society.
• Hobbes’s theory of morality is contractarian.