INTRODUCTION

• Applied ethics aims to resolve practical problems by using general moral theories.

• In practice, it’s difficult to move directly from moral theory or general principles (like “one ought not to inflict harm” or “one ought to treat people fairly”) to specific moral judgments.

• This creates a gap between theory and practice, showing that moral principles alone are not enough to address real-world dilemmas.

• To bridge this gap, theory must be paired with human experience, context, motivation, and practical wisdom.

• Peter Singer argues that ethics must not be just a theoretical ideal; it should be meaningful in practice by guiding real actions.

• In ethical dilemmas, moral rules may conflict (e.g., truth vs. harm prevention), requiring practical interpretation rather than rigid application.

• Therefore, applied ethics relies on both moral reasoning and contextual sensitivity, making it essential to define concepts clearly for meaningful ethical discussion.

BASIC CONCEPTS

Morality

• The word morality comes from the Latin moralis, meaning customs or manners.

• It refers to a body of standards or principles derived from a specific philosophy, religion, or culture, or from beliefs one thinks should be universal.

• Morality includes the empirical knowledge of moral phenomena in both individual life and social functioning.

• It is often seen as synonymous with “goodness” or “rightness.”

• Morality distinguishes between actions, intentions, and decisions that are considered right/good and those viewed as wrong/bad.

• In a descriptive sense, morality includes social mores, codes of conduct, and personal or cultural values.

• At its simplest, morality refers to rules and duties that shape human behavior—e.g., “Do not hurt people,” “Be fair,” “Respect others,” “Always tell the truth.”

Values

• Values represent our judgments about what is important as the ultimate ends or goals of human life.

• They refer to states of affairs that are desired by and for people.

• Both individuals and societies strive to promote and increase these values.

• Examples of values include Health, Wealth, Happiness, Freedom, Equality, Welfare, Justice, Democracy, Rule of Law, and more.

Virtues

• These traits are known as virtues, and they are essential for both personal development and the well-functioning of society.

• Virtues are morally desirable characteristics that guide behavior and decision-making.

• Examples include Courage, Self-control, Justice, Temperance, Wisdom, and similar qualities.

Ethics

• Ethics comes from the Greek word ethos, meaning character.

• As a science of character, ethics systematizes and recommends concepts of right and wrong behavior.

• It aims to resolve questions of human morality by examining terms like right, wrong, good, bad, vice, virtue, etc.

• Ethics is often defined as the philosophy of morality or the philosophical study of morality.

• It involves the academic study of morals, duties, values, and virtues, exploring their theoretical relationships.

• The discipline raises questions such as:

  • What is right or wrong in human conduct?

  • How do we judge an action or person as good, bad, right, or wrong?

  • How are moral decisions made?

  • Which moral theories are valid or invalid, and why?

  • Are there universal principles, or is morality context-specific?

  • Are actions like helping, stealing, killing, lying, donating right or wrong, and why?

• Ethics provides guidance on how to live by outlining rules, principles, and values.

• It also examines whether morals, duties, values, and virtues function effectively in practice.

• In everyday usage, the terms ethics and morality are often used interchangeably.

Ethical Laws/Principles

• Ethical principles are general concepts that integrate morals, values, and virtues to derive moral imperatives, guiding the judgment of actions.

• Ethics as a field can be studied through three primary approaches:

• Descriptive Ethics:

  • Focuses on the scientific and empirical study of morality.

  • Describes how people actually behave morally and what moral codes exist in societies.

  • Examines beliefs, behaviors, and decision-making processes about right and wrong.

  • Provides insights into moral phenomena, such as traits of virtue or vice in individuals and cultures.

• Normative Ethics:

  • Seeks to construct valid ethical systems or sets of moral standards and rules.

  • Evaluates what is right or wrong, prescribing how people ought to act.

  • Aims to create a consistent system of moral norms, valid for all.

  • Key theories:

    • Deontology: Duty-based ethics; rightness is rooted in moral duty rather than consequences. Kant argues actions must follow maxims we can universalize (Categorical Imperative).

    • Consequentialism: Judges actions by their outcomes. Classical Utilitarianism (Bentham, Mill) holds that the right action is the one maximizing happiness for the greatest number.

    • Virtue Ethics: Focuses on being a virtuous person, emphasizing character qualities (e.g., honesty, courage, integrity) over specific actions or consequences (Aristotle).

• Meta-ethics (Analytic Ethics):

  • Deals with the foundational analysis of ethics, logically prior to normative ethics.

  • First task: Semantical and conceptual analysis of moral language, studying meanings of terms like good, right, wrong.

  • Second task: Meta-inquiry into the nature of ethics and moral reasoning, analyzing how ethical statements and judgments function logically.

Is-Ought Gap

• Descriptive statements make assertions about the physical world (space, objects, time, causation) and the laws governing it.

• They are verifiable through sensory observation—seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting.

• Normative statements, in contrast, make claims about what is good, right, wrong, or what ought to be done.

• Normative statements include value judgments, prescriptions, and commands, which are not verifiable through empirical observation.

• The difference between the two reflects the “is-ought gap,” famously articulated by Hume.

• This gap means one cannot derive an “ought” from an “is”—you cannot reach a moral conclusion solely from factual premises.

• To move from facts to moral claims, a normative statement must already be accepted in the argument’s premises.