What are the 4 ethical experiences?
The Scream, The Face of the Other (Beggar), The Experience of the Intolerable, and Obligation.
Create a scenario for the ethical experience of the Scream.
Hearing someone cry out in pain and feeling compelled to help.
Create a scenario for the ethical experience of the Beggar (Face of the Other).
Seeing a homeless person asking for help and being called to respond to their need.
Create a scenario for the ethical experience of the Intolerable.
Witnessing injustice, like discrimination or violence, and realizing such treatment is unacceptable.
Create a scenario for the ethical experience of Obligation.
Feeling you must keep a promise even when it’s inconvenient.
Who is Aristotle?
A Greek philosopher who developed teleological ethics (ethics based on purpose and goal).
What are teleological ethics?
The belief that actions are right if they lead to the proper end or purpose of human life: happiness (eudaimonia).
Why is reason important in Aristotle’s ethics?
Reason allows humans to discover the proper mean between extremes and to live a virtuous life.
What is Aristotle’s doctrine of the mean?
Virtue lies in finding the balanced middle ground between extremes of excess and deficiency.
What is meant by mean/virtue in Aristotle’s ethics?
The balanced middle choice that represents moral excellence.
What is a vice of excess? Give an example.
Too much of a trait; e.g., recklessness instead of courage.
What is a vice of deficiency? Give an example.
Too little of a trait; e.g., cowardice instead of courage.
Who is Immanuel Kant?
An Enlightenment philosopher who developed deontological ethics (duty-based morality).
What are deontological ethics?
The belief that actions are moral if they are done out of duty, not because of consequences.
What is Kant’s concept of duty?
We are morally obligated to follow universal moral laws, regardless of outcomes.
What does Kant mean by saying moral worth is not measured by results?
True moral worth comes from acting out of good will and duty, not from whether the action leads to good outcomes.
What is good will in Kantian ethics?
The intention to do the right thing purely out of respect for moral law.
Who is Emmanuel Levinas?
A Jewish philosopher who emphasized ethics as responsibility for the Other.
What does Levinas mean by “the face of the other calls me to respond”?
Encountering another person’s vulnerability places an ethical demand on me to care for and respond to them.
What is deontology?
A duty-based ethical theory (Kant) where morality depends on following rules and acting out of obligation, not consequences.
What is teleology?
An end- or purpose-based ethical theory (Aristotle) where morality depends on actions leading to the proper goal of human life (happiness/eudaimonia).
What does “the face of the other” mean?
Levinas’ idea that encountering another person’s face calls us to an ethical responsibility to care for them.
What is moralitas (morality)?
The lived practice of values, habits, and actions that reflect ethical principles.
What is ta ethica (ethics)?
The study of principles, rules, and reasoning about what is good and how humans should act.
