Chapter 13 Notes

Notes from today!

Chapter 13: Review

Three main questions:
1. What is a good life
2. What is a good person
3. What is the right thing to do

Buddhism:
· Gautama (the Buddha), 6th century India
· Must follow eightfold path to reach nirvana (enlightenment)
· Live in harmony with self and nature
· Virtues such as non-violence and patience enables people to get closer to enlightenment
· Right to choice essential
· Why is Buddhism important in ethics?

Confucianism:
· People are not individuals but part of a whole
· The whole can include family and community

Taoism: History and Differences/Similarities to Confucianism
· A virtue ethic
· If you live a good life you display the 5 main virtues; kindness, righteousness, decorum, wisdom (integrity), faithfulness
· Similar to Confucianism in that a person is a part of a whole (community and family but also a member of the universe)
· Focus on defining and cultivating a harmonious society
· Lao-tzu, 6th century BCE, China

Hedonism:
· A philosophy that emphasizes that the good life is one devoted to pleasure

Aristotle and Virtue Ethicism:
· Moral choices are decided by the character of the person rather than by the actions of the person and the results they garner
· Defined as using the role of character in defining moral actions
· Must act according to right reason; rational part of person must work with irrational part to decide a middle path between the two extremes of virtue (golden mean)
Aquinas and virtue ethicism:
· Christian theologian who said that people can act good and perfect only if they use their reason to know God

Ross and virtue ethicism:
· 20th century English philosopher
· had 7 virtues that were more than virtues. They were duties or obligations of humans towards others
· 7 virtues are: fidelity, reparation, gratitude, justice, beneficence (improving the conditions of others), self-improvement, non-maleficence (not hurting others)

Existentialism:
· Kierkegaard: 19th century Danish philosopher
· Authentic choices are essential to humans
· Must have consistency of perception, thought and action
· Kierkegaard focuses on the existence of the individual
· Nietzche: 19th century German philosopher
· make own moral choices instead of deciding based on the ideas of the masses
· Said that faith in God was disappearing, therefore people must determine their own values
· Sartre: 20th century French philosopher
· Became an atheist as a result of watching the horrors of WWII
· Said that no master plan or planner governs human existence
· Defined as a movement that focuses on individual autonomy and the necessity of making reasoned decisions for oneself
· Theory has been disputed recently as complete personal freedom could/may lead to anarchy

Divine Command:
· Defined as: a theory that says that right and wrong are defined by the commands of a supreme being
· In every religion (basically)
· Always being debated because it is favoured by the gods, or do the gods favour it because it is right?

Utilitarianism:
· The greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people is the reason for any moral decision
· All decisions are moral
· Jeremy Bentham (18th century English philosopher)
· John Stuart Mill (Bentham’s godson) added to Bentham’s ideas
· A chief strength of utilitarianism is that it encourages choice and discussion when making decisions
· A critique of utilitarianism is that the words happiness (pleasure, good) can be interpreted in many different ways

Kantian Ethicism:
· Immanuel Kant (German philosopher)
· Moral choices must be judged, not by the consequences, but by the good will of the moral agent