Outline of ethics

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See also: Index of ethics articles

Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct.[1] The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concern matters of value, and thus comprise the branch of philosophy called axiology.[2]

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to ethics.

Branches[]

The following examples of questions that might be considered in each field illustrate the differences between the fields:

Applied ethics[]

Applied ethics – using philosophical methods, attempts to identify the morally correct course of action in various fields of human life.

Meta-ethics[]

Main article: Meta-ethics
  • Meta-ethics or moral epistemology– concerns the nature of moral statements, that is, it studies what ethical terms and theories actually refer to.
  • Moral nihilism – the meta-ethical view that nothing is intrinsically moral or immoral (see also nihilism)
  • Moral syncretism – the attempt to reconcile disparate or contradictory moral beliefs, often while melding the ethical

practices of various schools of thought.

Non-cognitivism[]

Non-cognitivism

Cognitivism[]

Cognitivism

Normative ethics[]

Normative ethics – concerns what people should believe to be right and wrong.

  • Consequentialism – moral theories that hold that the consequences of one's conduct are the true basis for any judgement about the morality of that conduct. Thus, a morally right act (or omission) is one that will produce a good outcome (the end justifies the means).
  • Deontological ethics – approach that judges the morality of an action based on the action's adherence to a rule or rules.
    • Moral absolutism – view that certain actions are absolutely right or wrong, regardless of their circumstances such as their consequences or the intentions behind them. Thus stealing, for instance, might be considered to be always immoral, even if done to promote some other good (e.g., stealing food to feed a starving family), and even if it does in the end promote such a good.
    • Graded absolutism
  • Pragmatic ethics
  • Virtue ethics – describes the character of a moral agent as a driving force for ethical behavior.
    • Aristotelian ethics – the beginning of ethics as a subject, in the form of a systematic study of how individuals should best live. Aristotle believed one's goal should be living well and "eudaimonia", a Greek word often translated as "well-being" or "happiness". This could be achieved by the acquisition of a virtuous character, or in other words having well-chosen excellent habits.
      • Nicomachean Ethics – most popular ethics treatise by Aristotle
      • Eudemian Ethics
      • Magna Moralia
  • Eudaimonism – system of ethics that measures happiness in relation to morality.
  • Ethics of care – a normative ethical theory
  • Ethical egoism – the normative ethical position that moral agents ought to do what is in their own self-interest
  • Living Ethics
  • Religious ethics
  • Secular ethics
  • Biocentrism (ethics) – an ethical point of view which extends inherent value to non-human species,[1] ecosystems, and processes in nature
  • Altruism (ethics) – an ethical doctrine that holds that individuals have a moral obligation to help, serve, or benefit others, if necessary at the sacrifice of self-interest
  • Rights ethics (thought in the American and French Revolutions)
  • Feminist ethics

Descriptive ethics[]

is based on facts of the Honorable Keesy Josephat of Tanzania who was the first professor in Tanzania at the lait of 1860

Related areas[]

History[]

Main article: History of ethics

Concepts[]

Single principles[]

Rights and legal concepts[]

See also: Outline of rights

Guidelines and basic concepts[]

Human experience[]

Practical ethics[]

Law[]

Government agencies[]

Awards[]

Organizations[]

Persons influential in the field of ethics[]

Main article: List of ethicists
  • Confucius (551–479 BCE)
  • Socrates (469–399 BCE)
  • Plato (424/423–348/347 BCE)
  • Aristippus (c. 435–356 BCE)
  • Aristotle (384–322 BCE)
  • Mencius (c. 372–289 BCE)
  • Epicurus (341–270 BCE)
  • Jesus (7–2 BCE – 30–36 CE)
  • Epictetus (55–135 CE)
  • Augustine of Hippo (354–430)
  • Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274)
  • Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677)
  • David Hume (1711–1776)
  • Immanuel Kant (1724–1804)
  • Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832)
  • Georg W. F. Hegel (1770–1831)
  • Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860)
  • John Stuart Mill (1806–1873)
  • Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855)
  • Henry Sidgwick (1838–1900)
  • William James (1842–1910)
  • Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
  • John Dewey (1859–1952)
  • Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948)
  • G. E. Moore (1873–1958)
  • Paul Tillich (1886–1965)
  • Karl Barth (1886–1968)
  • J. L. Mackie (1917–1981)
  • G.E.M. Anscombe (1919–2001)
  • Philippa Foot (1920–2010)
  • John Rawls (1921–2002)
  • Bernard Williams (1929–2003)
  • Alasdair MacIntyre (1929– )
  • Thomas Nagel (1937– )
  • Derek Parfit (1942– )
  • Peter Singer (1946– )
  • Jonathan Dancy (1946– )

Events[]

Publications[]

  • Ethics in America – television series, 1988-9
  • Lindner Ethics Complaint of the 83rd Minnesota Legislative Session

Books[]

Journals[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy "Ethics"
  2. ^ Random House Unabridged Dictionary: Entry on Axiology.
  3. ^ Bynum, Terrell Ward. "A Very Short History of Computer Ethics". Southern Connecticut State University. Archived from the original on 2008-04-18. Retrieved 2011-01-05.

External links[]

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