Ethical Theory is the philosophical study of morality. (Cambridge dictionary) this is the study of people or cultures and their ethical behaviors. There are many cultures and groups of people that make up our world. Not everyone has the same ethical values and each culture is uniquely different. Ethical theory is a set of beliefs by a culture, with an ethical theory it helps people set to values and concepts of right and wrong behavior. We use ethical systems to work through our problems to find out what ought to be morally right and wrong. (Wilkens, 2011) There are three main branches of ethical theory and they are; metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Metaethics is the study of where moral principles come from. Normative ethics regulates right and wrong behavior. Applied ethics looks at the most debatable issues that are faced in the world. With these different fields of ethics, philosophers try to figure out the best way to figure out how to best approach controversial issues. For the use of this paper, I will concentrate on Metaethics and how we use it to determine moral judgments.
Metaethics
Metaethics is the study of where morals originate from. Metaethics is the study of the origin and meaning of ethical concepts. (Fieser) Metaethics has two issues concerning where ethics come from are they spirit based or are they made by man. The spirit based realm says that morals are objective in that there is a higher power like God and he makes all morals,
There are many meta-ethics concepts in philosophy that help deal with common objection and disparagement between certain situations and topics. The first meta-ethics concept is Ethical Objectivism. Ethical objectivism is a view where an action is deemed right or wrong without the opinion and thoughts of an individual. The three main branches of ethical objectivism that will be discussed in the following passages are moral universalism, moral realism and moral absolutism. The next meta-ethics concept is ethical subjectivism. Subjectivism states that a claim is dependent on a persons opinions and beliefs. Lastly, the third and final meta-ethics concept is ethical relativism. Relativism involves culture. The following will reveal objectivism, subjectivism and relativism and the ramifications of history, strength and weaknesses of these three meta-ethics concepts.
What is a moral? This is a question that has plagued philosophers for many years. Is it possible
Meta-ethics – Study of meta-ethics deals with the understanding of the working of ethical properties and
An area of study that deals with ideas about what is good and bad behavior: a branch of philosophy
Is morality relative? Ruth Benedict and James Rachels have opposing views on this conroversial question. Benedict, "a foremost American anthropologist who taught at Columbia University" (Pojman 370) believes that morality is relative to one's culture and that one's behavior which is deemed moral or immoral is dependent upon cultural norms. Her argument is as such:
“The field of ethics (or moral philosophy) involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. Philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject areas: metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Metaethics
Metaethics is a branch of philosophy that explores the status, foundations, and scope of moral values, properties, and words. Cultural relativism can be classified as metaethical considering that it possesses the idea that something is ‘correct’, if it is approved by the larger part of (said) culture. Moral hedonism is another metaethical theory; this is the view that our fundamental moral obligation is to maximise pleasure or happiness. Another example is moral subjectivism; this observes that if we believe something is right, then it is right regardless of other theories. Finally, moral
When people hear the term “ethics,” most of their minds turn to dilemmas discussed by figures such as Immanuel Kant, Jeremy Bentham, Aristotle, and other famous philosophers. These men debated what is considered to be morally good and how a person can become ethical. Operating under normative ethics, these philosophers did not question whether or not ethics even existed, but rather if they exist, what are they? The branch of ethics that questions the foundation of ethics and morality is metaethics. There are three standpoints when debating metaethics: moral realism, moral relativism, and moral skepticism. I will be discussing my argument for moral realism and contend that moral relativism and skepticism are inaccurate. I will prove the
Chapter one is about ethics. It is defined as what is right and wrong. By being able to follow guidelines it can make for a good life (pg.3) Ethics can be divided into two forms called theoretical and narrative. Normative ethics affects are lives at the personal and global levels. Normative ethics gives us rea world experience to apply to everyday life (pg.8) Theoretical ethics also called metaethics, is dealing with the meaning and foundations of someone’s morals (pg. 8).,
There are four main perspectives on moral reasoning and all of them have their positive and negative sides. In the article The Basic Stances of Metaethics the authors define each of the main perspectives on moral reasoning, objectivism, cultural relativism, subjective relativism, and emotivism, and they leave the reader with a good understanding of each of them. In this essay I am going to outline the central arguments of each perspective and give positive and negative critiques.
Ethics has developed as people have reflected on the intentions and consequences of their acts. From this reflection on the nature of human behavior, theories of conscience have developed, giving direction to much ethical thinking. Each individual
The word “ethics” comes from Greek ethikas meaning character. Today, we use ethics to describe the normative standard of behavior. The history of philosophical ethics has been broken up into five rational methods: Virtue, Traditional, Modern, and Post-Modern Ethics. Within these periods, the philosophy of ethics changed along with the changes being made within society.
The area of philosophy which is concerned with systematizing, defending and recommendation the concepts of right and wrong is briefly defined as ethics. Thus, ethics can be consider as a set of moral rules practiced by a group of people or community. The origin of word Ethics is greece, derived from the word ‘ethikos’, meaning habit. The theories of ethics and its principles are the standing pillars of ethical analysis. These ethical theories are always aimed towards a common set of goals. Such set of goals are the basic principles of ethics. In 1979, in the United States, the Belmont Report: Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research was published. The basic principles according to this report are: i) Respect for Persons. ii) Beneficence which has its two set of rules – do not harm and maximize possible benefits and minimize possible harms; iii) Justice which implies the sense of ‘fairness of distribution’ and ‘what is deserved’. The three major types of ethics are Meta ethics, Normative Ethics and Applied Ethics. Meta ethics also known as Analytic ethics which explores and understands the status, foundation and scope of moral values, properties and words. It is mainly concerned on morality. The two main schools of met ethics are cognitivism and non-cognitivism (Argandona, 2004). Normative ethics: The area under moral philosophy which approaches to understand the right or wrong
Ethics can be a simple concept when first introduced, but as you go deeper into the understanding of what is ethics and how to be ethical it becomes more complex than one would assume by reading a single definition. In our modern world, there are plenty of people who manage to stay ethical, but as we go further into the future more and more individuals lose that glimmer of morality that was once upon them. The actual definition of ethics is a system of moral principles. Meaning that a characteristic that shows through the decisions we make everyday. In relation to the concept we all go by which is choosing between right or wrong and success or failure. Some may argue and use morals interchangeably and disagree on whether to stay ethical is inherently found through spiritual principles or just a philosophy of morals. There are plenty of ways one can stay ethical throughout their life despite the temptation of doing the wrong thing to get further ahead whether that’d be success or popularity.
Ethics is the branch of study dealing with social principles. It’s a requirement of what is the proper line of action for human life. Although ethics is a central component of any happy, health, and mature life, many disagree about the value of living an ethical life. In order to solve crucial moral problems created by human existence, philosophers use ethical theories for their issues. A theory is an abstract statement formulated to predict, explain, or describe the relationships among concepts or events. In this semester I’ve had the opportunity to study some of them. I’ve read ethical relativism, egoism, utilitarianism, Kantian