1 What is ethics Is it what people want Is it a view of what is good in life Is it a normative order posing reasonable demands on how to live act feel with regard to oneself and or others Topic for debate Is there What is the difference between Ethics and Morality 1 1 Ethics and Morality ethics comes from the Greek and means disposition or custom emphasizing individual character moral comes from Latin and means essentially the same thing just emphasizing social expectations Some propose a controversial distinction Ethics Theory of the good life what is valuable personal decision believe that people have a personal choice Morality what generally governs society not just a personal decision don t believe that anyone has a choice cannot think something is wrong but that people have a choice people have no choice Example Berta takes a religious life to be the correct conception of the good However she respects the right of others to be atheists However she still believes that they leas a misguided life Morality the right just dependent on ethics the good Medical ethics questions of the right the good and their relationship Example Abortion Ethics right of the mother to decide what is best for her and her child Morals is it moral to end a life 1 2 Where do ethical judgments come from Feelings Socialization Moral Facts debatable if there is such a thing as moral facts Intuitions Principles Which Method Reflective Equilibrium working back and forth among our considered judgments about particular cases the principles of rules that we believe govern them and the theoretical considerations How do we reach acceptable coherence We accept justify that based on the principle only one scenario is right and must e applied to all OR We revise our underlying principle and make a more fine grained DDE Example hospital vs war 1 3 Different Ethical Outlooks Deontological arguments Here the focus is on the principles about with the rights of others require us to do Consequentialist argument Focus on bringing out the best outcome Acts Virtue ethical arguments Here the focus is on a person displaying an excellent character 1 4 Ethics and Law What is Law Law Rules of external behavior enforced by society that is backed by sanctions How is ethics different from law Two examples 1 Lying is not illegal Is it always permissible to lie 2 It is illegal to break into a pharmacy Is it always impermissible to steal medicine even in order to save your friend s life 1 5 Ethics and Politics Politics a a struggle for power or b Deliberating together about the common good Among other things politics determines 1 Laws 2 How taxes are distributed Suppose a majority or those who hold the power decided to issue a law that you deem to be unjust do you have the right to resist on ethical grounds Examples 1 Racial laws in Nazi Germany 2 Roe vs Wade in the US 3 The death penalty in the US