What are moral theories? What are three differences between utilitarian and deon
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Question
What are moral theories?
What are three differences between utilitarian and deontological theories?
Who developed utilitarian theory?
What are Kant’s two imperatives?
Define Kant’s concept of a “good will.”
What should a person do if he or she has a conflict between two important duties or obligations?
What is the Trolley Problem and what theory is this problem associated with?
Must we always tell the truth even when we know the consequence will harm to another person or persons?
What theory is akin to the Golden Rule?
What is a moral dilemma?
Explanation / Answer
Answer:
Moral theories explain why a certain action is wrong -- or why we ought to act in certain ways. It is a theory of how we determine right and wrong conduct. They provide the framework upon which we think and discuss in a reasoned way, and so evaluate, specific moral issues.
Throughout the ages, there have emerged multiple moral theores. Here is a brief summnary.
Theories of Morality
1) Moral Subjectivism
Right and wrong is determined by what you -- the subject -- just happens to think (or 'feel') is right or wrong.
2) Cultural Relativism
Right and wrong is determined by the particular set of principles or rules the relevant culture just happens to hold at the time.
3) Ethical Egoism
Right and wrong is determined by what is in your self-interest. Or, it is immoral to act contrary to your self-interest.
(4) Divine Command Theory
Many claim that there is a necessary connection between morality and religion, such that, without religion (in particular, without God or gods) there is no morality, i.e., no right and wrong behaviour. Although there are related claims that religion is necessary to motivate and guide people to behave in morally good way, most take the claim of the necessary connection between morality and religion to mean that right and wrong come from the commands of God (or the gods). This view of morality is known as Divine Command Theory.
(5) Virtue Ethics
Right and wrong are characterized in terms of acting in accordance with the traditional virtues -- making the good person.
6) Feminist Ethics
Right and wrong is to be found in womens' responses to the relationship of caring.
(7) Utilitarianism
Right and wrong is determined by the overall goodness (utility) of the consequences of action.
Utilitarianism is a Consequentialist moral theory.
(8) Kantian Theory
Right and wrong is determined by rationality, giving universal duties.
Kantianism is a Non-consequentialist moral theory.
(9) Rights-based Theories
We are to act in accordance with a set of moral rights, which we possess simply by being human. The basic idea of this theory is that if someone has a right, then others have a corresponding duty to provide what the right requires.
(10) Contractarianism
The principles of right and wrong (or Justice) are those which everyone in society would agree upon in forming a social contract.
3 Differences between Utilitarian and Deontological theories?
1. Deontology does not believe in the concept of ‘the end justifies the means’ whereas Utilitarianism does.
2. Utilitarianism is more consequence-oriented in character but, deontology is not consequence-oriented in nature.
3. Deontology takes the universally accepted codes of conduct into account whereas, utilitarianism does not take universally accepted codes of conduct into account.
Who developed utilitarian theory?
Although forms of utilitarianism have been put forward and debated since ancient times, the modern theory is most often associated with the British philosopherJohn Stuart Mill (1806- 1873) who developed the theory from a plain hedonistic version put forward by his mentor Jeremy Bentham (1748- 1832). As most clearly stated by Mill, the basic principle of utilitarianism is:
Actions are right to the degree that they tend to promote the greatest good for the greatest number.
What are Kant’s two imperatives?
Kant discusses two kinds of imperatives: Hypothetical and Categorical.
A hypothetical imperative conditionally demands performance of an action for the sake of some other end or purpose; it has the form "Do A in order to achieve X." The application of hypothetical imperatives to ethical decisions is mildly troublesome: in such cases it is clear that we are morally obliged to perform the action A only if we are sure both that X is a legitimate goal and that doing A will in fact produce this desirable result. For a perfectly rational being, all of this would be analytic, but given the general limitations of human knowledge, the joint conditions may rarely be satisfied.
A categorical imperative, on the other hand, unconditionally demands performance of an action for its own sake; it has the form "Do A." An absolute moral demand of this sort gives rise to familiar difficulties: since it expresses moral obligation with the perfect necessity that would directly bind any will uncluttered by subjective inclinations, the categorical imperative must be known a priori; yet it cannot be an analytic judgment, since its content is not contained in the concept of a rational agent as such.
Define Kant’s concept of a “good will.”
Kant’s analysis of commonsense ideas begins with the thought that the only thing good without qualification is a “good will”. The idea of a good will is closer to the idea of a “good person”, or, more archaically, a “person of good will”.
The basic idea, as Kant describes, is that what makes a good person good is his possession of a will that is in a certain way “determined” by, or makes its decisions on the basis of, the moral law. The idea of a good will is supposed to be the idea of one who is committed only to make decisions that he/she holds to be morally worthy and who takes moral considerations in themselves to be conclusive reasons for guiding her behavior. This sort of disposition or character is something we all highly value, Kant thought. He believes we value it without limitation or qualification.
In Kant’s terms, a good will is a will whose decisions are wholly determined by moral demands or, as he often refers to this, by the Moral Law.
What should a person do if he or she has a conflict between two important duties or obligations?
If a person faces conflict between 2 very important duties or obligation, then he /she should question him/herself that which dutie or obligation if he/she fulfills will have a better impact on him or others. Once he /she has answered that particular to themselves then the person should go about fulfilling that particular duty/obligation
What is the Trolley Problem and what theory is this problem associated with?
The Trolley Problem is a thought experiment first devised by the Oxford moral philosopher Philippa Foot in 1967. In her paper titled ‘The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of the Double Effect’
The general form of the problem is this:
There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway tracks. Ahead, on the tracks, there are five people tied up and unable to move. The trolley is headed straight for them. You are standing some distance off in the train yard, next to a lever. If you pull this lever, the trolley will switch to a different set of tracks. However, you notice that there is one person tied up on the side track. You have two options:
Which is the most ethical choice?
Theory which is associated with trolley problem is Dual Process theory of moral judgement
Must we always tell the truth even when we know the consequence will harm to another person or persons?
Its okay to lie to another person if it is going to hurt them but it is important that we are lying with good intent and not becuase it will hurt them later.
What theory is akin to the Golden Rule?
Kantian Theory is akin to Golden Rule.
What is a moral dilemma?
A moral dilemma is defined as any situation in which the person making the decision experiences a conflict between the moral rightness of a decision and the quality of the results it produces. Many times, these dilemmas involve a morally wrong decision that produces a desirable result, or vice versa. Other times, moral dilemmas involve a decision in which the person is forced to choose only one of two good things.
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