Lecture 1 4 Ethical Moral Theories Moral theories should explain why an action is right or wrong and why a person is good or bad Divine command theory states that moral actions are ones commanded by or willed by God Utilitarianism started that a right actions are those that are produce the greatest happiness for all of those concerned Moral progress society or individuals are becoming better people can be made through reflection and theorizing on larger patterns 2 types of moral theories 1 Right action moral theories based on what actions are right or wrong 2 Virtue moral theories based on what it means to be a good or bad person and have good or bad character Theories of right action can figure directly into ones reasoning Bioethics is a field of applied ethics and the theories of right action are applied the most 2 main theories of right action 1 Consequentialist theories maintains that the rightness of an action depends solely on the consequences or results 2 Deontological theories maintains that the rightness of an action depends not solely by the consequences but partly or entirely by the nature of the action itself Utilitarianism is the view that an action is right in proportion to how much good it produces good vs bad outcomes Dictates that the utility of everyone affected should be maximized This principle should be followed regardless of other moral urgings only the principle of utilitarianism should be followed Forms of utilitarianism 1 Equates utility with happiness pleasure Hedonistic approach 2 Equates utility to satisfaction of preferences desires intrinsically valuable good or state 2 main approaches to applying the utilitarian model 1 Act utilitarianism specific actions the rightness or wrongness of an action is going to depend solely on the relative goodness of that individual action maximizes the utility of all involved 2 Rule utilitarianism rules that govern such actions a right action is one that conforms with a rule that if followed consistently would create greater overall benefit for everyone involved All forms of utilitarianism demand a strong sense of impartiality everyone s perspective is given equal weight The total happiness overall is what is most important maximizing total happiness is more fundamental than maximizing the total amount of people that are happy Jeremy Bentham 1747 1832 was an English philosopher who is the founder of modern utilitarianism Thought that happiness was one dimensional just pleasure John Stewart Mills 1806 1873 was an English philosopher who updated the theory of utilitarianism Thought that pleasure was two dimensional higher and lower pleasures Utility is the only measure of morality