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Ethics

Deontology vs Teleology

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Consequences (teleology)

  • Actions are right or wrong based on the outcomes
  • No external, universal, absolute truth
    • Utilitarianism
    • Hedonism
    • Egoism
    • Asceticism
    • Altruism

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Utilitarianism (cf. hedonism)

  • Philosophers: Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill
  • Needs of group > needs of individual
  • Not always altruistic; group may sacrifice individual against his will
  • “...actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness…”
  • Ex: lifeboat

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Hedonism

  • Philosophers: (other than the Greeks) Jeremy Bentham, Michael Onfray
  • Happiness is the ultimate moral purpose
  • Maximize pleasure for self and others
  • Hedonistic Paradox: forget pleasure to find it

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Egoism (cf. hedonism)

  • Philosophers: Ayn Rand, Nietzsche, Henry Sidgwick
  • Cultivation of self is ultimate moral purpose
  • Individual > group
  • NOT necessarily anti-social or costly to others
  • EX: privacy vs. safety

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Asceticism (cf. cynicism, stoicism)

  • Philosophers: Plotinus, Plato, Schopenhauer, McClelland
  • Abstain from worldly pleasures (money, fame, power)
  • Self-denial = self-discipline
  • Simplicity for spiritual health

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Altruism (cf. skepticism)

  • Philosophers: Auguste Comte, Mother Teresa*
  • Group > individual (self-sacrifice)
  • Deny selfish desires to meet needs of others
  • Opposite of Egoism

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Duty (deontology)

  • Actions are right or wrong by their very nature
  • Some external, universal, absolute truth
    • Divine command
    • Natural rights
    • Categorical imperative
    • Contractarian ethics

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Divine Command (cf. ?)

  • Philosophers: St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Robert Adams
  • Morality decided by God’s will/command
  • Not necessarily linked to specific religion
  • Manmade ethics relative/subjective
  • Paradox: Is it wrong because God said so, or did God say so because it is wrong?

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Natural Rights (cf. humanism)

  • Philosophers: Locke, Hobbes, Paine
  • Natural, universal, inherent rights
  • Life, liberty, property, pursuit of happiness
  • Basis for social contract (if you have rights that others cannot violate, then they have rights that you cannot violate)

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Categorical Imperative (cf. humanism, hedonism)

  • Philosophers: Immanuel Kant
  • Act on duty, not consequences
  • Action is right if you would want it to be universal law
  • Treat others as ends, not just means

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Contractarian ethics (cf. humanism)

  • Philosophers: Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau
  • People balance personal rights with social duty (social contract)
  • Governments (should) moderate interactions for good of all
  • NOT blind obedience; govt serves people, people submit using reason
  • (basically, you agree to the terms that society/govt sets; if not, you leave or change the terms)