Philosophy

Philosophy Study Guide

Chapter 8: Are There Moral Truths? Learning Objectives 1. Discuss the difference between ethics and values and their role in the foundation of philosophy as a science 2. Define ethical and cultural relativism 3. Discuss egoism as a universal principle in philosophy as a science 4. Discuss major developmental changes that occur in the prenatal stage 5. Discuss the Natural Law and Divine Command Theory 8.1 Ethics and Values Ethics is the study of values that govern our moral character and our relationships with other people. Ethical concepts include right and wrong, good and bad, just and unjust, fair and unfair, responsible and irresponsible. Value is the term we use to characterize anything that possesses intrinsic worth, that we prize, esteem, and regard highly, based on certain defined standards. Axiology is the term that refers to the study of value or quality. In philosophy, one of the most important value domains includes your moral values, those personal qualities and rules that distinguish a person and or group of people of upstanding character. Moral philosophy is interested in moral customs and practices of various cultures, and its true mandate goes beyond simple description to analyzing and evaluating the justification and logic of these moral beliefs. Most people in our culture have not challenged themselves to think deeply and critically about ethical concepts, nor have they been guided to develop coherent, well-grounded ethical systems of their own. You become a philosopher of values by expanding your role as a critical thinker and extending your sophisticated thinking abilities to the domain of moral experience. According to Socrates, your values constitute the core of who you are and if you are to live a life of purpose, it is essential that you develop an enlightened code of ethics to guide you. Philosophy plays a uniquely central role in helping us to develop enlightened values, use informal reasoning, and make well-supported conclusions. Although most areas of human study are developed to describing the world and how people behave, philosophy is concerned with helping people evaluate how the world ought to be and what courses of action people should take. 8.2 Thinking Critically About Ethics For many people, most of their values came from their parents, teachers, religious leader, and other authority figures as well as friends, acquaintances, and colleagues. Most people’s values are a collection of general principles, practical conclusions, and emotional pronouncements. These values may compromise your current moral compass that you use to guide your decisions in moral situations, even though you may not be consciously aware of it. The challenge is for you to develop a refined and accurate compass an enlightened system of values that you can use to confidently guide your moral decisions. Making sense out of the out of the confusing and emotionally-charged territory of moral experience is the express purpose of moral philosophy. Moral philosophy, known as ethics, attempts to create coherent theoretical frameworks that we can

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