Ethics- is the study of the morality of human acts.

It is Topic 3: SUBJECTIVISM
also significant to study the moral basis why a human act
is said to be moral or immoral. Ethical subjectivism- is the idea that our moral opinions
are based on our feeling and nothing more.
Topic 2: CULTURAL RELATIVISM
The Theory of Ethical subjectivism has begun from the
Cultural Relativism- is a theory about the nature of simple idea of David Hume, that morality is a matter of
morality. sentiment rather than fact.

Sociologist William Graham summer (1906) Simple Subjectivism – interpreted ethical sentences as
statements of fact, of a special kind- namely, as reports
“Different cultures have different moral codes” of the speaker’s attitude.
The customs of different societies are all that exist.
These customs cannot be said to be “correct” or Emotivism-developed by Charles L. Stevenson (1908-
“incorrect” for that implies we have an independent 1979) emotions affect your actions.
standard of right and wrong by which they may be
judged Universalism-ideas have universal application or
applicability
Different Moral Codes
Topic 4: ETHICAL EGOISM
1. Different societies have different moral codes
2. The moral code of a society determines what is Ethical Egoism- “Each person ought to do whatever
right within that society; that is, if the moral will best promote his or her own interest. “
code of a society says that a certain action is
It does not say that one should promote one’s own
right, then that action is right, at least within that interest as well as the interest of others. It is a radical view that
society. one’s only duty is to promotes own interest. According to
3. There is no objective standard that can be used Ethical egoism,, there is only one ultimate principle conduct,
to judge one society’s code better than another’s. the principle of conduct, the principle of self- interest , and
4. The moral code of our own society has no this principle sums up all of one’s natural duties and
special status; it is merely one among many. obligation.
5. There is “ no universal truth” in ethics; that is,
there are no moral truths that hold for all peoples Ayn Rand’s Argument
at all times
1. A person has only one life to live. If we value
6. It is mere arrogance for us to try to judge the
the individual – that is, if the individual has
conduct of other peoples. We should adopt an
moral worth- then we must agree that this life is
attitude of tolerance toward the practices of
of supreme importance. After all, it is all one
other cultures.
has, and all one is.
Consequences Cultural Relativism 2. The ethics of altruism regards the life of the
individual as something one must be ready to
There is no measure of right and wrong other than the sacrifice for the good of others. Therefore, the
standards of one’s society. Three consequences of ethics of altruism does not take seriously the
Cultural Relativism have led many thinkers to reject it value of the human individual.
as implausible on its face. Because it implies that 3. Ethical Egoism, which allows each person to
judgments make no sense, the arguments go it, it cannot view his or own life as being of ultimate value,
be right: does take the human individual seriously- it is,
in fact, the only philosophy that does so.
1. We could no longer say that the customs of 4. Thus, Ethical Egoism is the philosophy that we
other societies are morally inferior to our own. ought to accept.
2. We could decide whether actions are right or
wrong just by consulting the standards of our Psychological Egoism- every human action is motivated
society. by self-interest.
3. The idea of moral progress is called into doubt.
Thomas Hobbes

1. Charity- we ascribe to people when we think

they are acting from a concern for others.
2. Pity- we might think to sympathize with them,
to feel unhappy about their misfortunes.
 Topic 5: KANTIANISM Topic 6: ETHICS OF VIRTUE

Kantianism- Our duty is to follow rules that we could What is virtue- Aristotle said that a virtue is a trait of
consistently will to be universal laws- that is, rules that character manifested in habitual action.
we would be following to have followed by all people in
all circumstances. Socrates

Socrates, who once observed that “the unexamined life

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)- He argued that lying is is not worth living,”
never right, no matter what the circumstances. He did
He believed that virtue could be known, though he
not appeal to theological considerations; he held instead
himself did not profess to know it. He also thought that
that reason requires that we never lie.
anyone who knows what virtue is will necessarily act
Kant observed that the word ought is often used non-morally. virtuously. Socrates states no one chooses evil; no one
For example: chooses to act in ignorance.

1. If you want to become a better chess player, you Plato

ought to study the games of Garry Kasparov.
2. If you want to go to law school, you ought to sign Socrates’ greatest disciple, Plato, accepted the key
you for the entrance examination. Socratic beliefs in the objectivity of goodness and in the
link between knowing what is good and doing it.
Kant called these “hypothetical imperatives” because
they tell us what to do provided that we have the Aristotle’s Nicomachean ethics
relevant desires.
The central questions are about character. To
Formulation of Categorical Imperative understand ethics, therefore we must understand what
makes someone virtuous person and with a keen eye for
The idea that moral rules hold without exception is the details, Aristotle devotes much space to discuss
hard to defend. It is easy enough to explain why we should
particular virtues such as courage, self-control,
make an exception to a rule- we can simply point out that, in
some circumstances, following the rule would have terrible
generosity, and truthfulness.
consequences. Moral requirements are categorical: they
What do this virtue consists in?
have the form, “You ought to do such-and-such, period. “

Categorical imperative- Morality can be summed up in  Courage- is a mean between the extremes of
one ultimate principle, from which all our duties and cowardice and foolhardiness- it is cowardly to
obligations are derived. run away from all danger; yet it is foolhardy to
risk too much.
FIRST FORMULATION OF THE CATEGORICAL  Generosity- is the willingness to expend one’s
IMPERATIVES resources to help others
 Honesty- people who do not lie and so they will
 “Act only in accordance with the maxim through have to find other ways to deal with difficult
which you can at the same time will that it situations.
become a universal law”  Loyalty to Family and Friends.
SECOND FORMULATION OF THE
CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVES Topic 7: UTILITARIANISM
 “Act so that you use humanity, as much in your Utilitarianism, a theory proposed by David Hume
own person as in the person of every other, (1711-1776) but given definite formulation by Jeremy
always at the same time as end and never merely Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873),
as means” is a case in point.

Utilitarianism - “We ought to do whatever will

promote the greatest happiness for the greatest
number.”

John Stuart Mill- The utilitarian doctrine is that

happiness is desirable, and the only thing desirable, as an
end; all other things being desirable as means to that
end. Mill's major moral point is that we must judge the use of political power in a democracy, and envisions
ethical value of actions on the overall consequences it how civic unity might endure despite the diversity of
has for people, in terms of pleasure and pain. worldviews that free institutions allow.

The Greatest Happiness Principle Topic 9: APPLIED ETHICS

The Greatest Happiness Principle holds that the Bioethics- branch of applied ethics that studies the
more pleasure and the least pain an action causes, the philosophical, social, and legal issues arising in
better it is morally. medicine and the life sciences. It is chiefly concerned
with human life and well-being, though it sometimes
Topic 8: SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY also treats ethical questions relating to the nonhuman
biological environment
The Social Contract Theory - “The right thing to do is
to follow the rules that rational self-interested people can Business Ethics- also called corporate ethics, is a form
agree to establish for their mutual benefit.” of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines the
ethical and moral principles and problems that arise in a
The Social Contract Theory of Morals is, as we have business environment. It can also be defined as the
seen, the idea that morality consist in the set of rules written and unwritten codes of principles and values,
governing how people are to treat one another that determined by an organization’s culture, that govern
rational people will agree to accept, for their mutual decisions and actions within that organization.
benefit, on the condition that other follow those rules as
well. Legal Ethics- refers to an ethical code governing the
conduct of people engaged in the practice of law.
Thomas Hobbes- State of the Nature
Environmental Ethics - Environmental ethics is the part
Hobbes begins by asking what it would be like if of environmental philosophy which considers the ethical
there were no social rules and no commonly accepted relationship between human beings and the natural
mechanism for enforcing them. Imagine, if you will, that environment.
there was no such thing as government- no laws, no
police, and no courts. In this situation, each of us
would be free to do as we pleased.

John Locke - Democracy, Liberty and Equality

Democratic values support the belief that an

orderly society can exist in which freedom is preserved.
But order and freedom must be balanced. John Locke
theorized that the right to rule came from the
"CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED."

Jean Jacques Rousseau - Social Contract

In The Social Contract (1762) Rousseau argues

that laws are binding only when they are supported by
the general will of the people.

His famous idea, 'man is born free, but he is

everywhere in chains' challenged the traditional order of
society. Where previous philosophers had spoken of
elites, Rousseau became the champion of the common
person. His perfect world was one in which the will of
the people was most important.

John Rawls - Theory of Justice

His theory of justice as fairness describes a

society of free citizens holding equal basic rights and
cooperating within an egalitarian economic system. His
theory of political liberalism delineates the legitimate