Chapter  2:  Ethical Traditions   

Section 1:  OVERVIEW

All humans need to make decisions concerning the right thing to do.  Most humans want to do what is good.  It is good to do the right thing.  Often knowing what is the right thing to do, knowing what is right, and knowing what is good is not all that easy.  Answers to the questions, "What is the right thing to do?" and "What is the good ?" aren't obvious to many or universally agreed upon.  yet, humans need answers to these questions.  This chapter or unit of the course is concerned with a matter of considerable importance: the GOOD.   Ethics is a branch of Philosophy which deals with the issue of the GOOD.  The question here is what is the GOOD?  What is meant by the GOOD?  The answer is needed so that humans will know how to live a GOOD life.  People need to know what the GOOD is in order to choose the GOOD.  Ethics deals with theories of the GOOD.  Ethical theories put forth principles of the GOOD.   

What is the difference between Ethics, Morality and the Law?

What's the difference between morality and ethics?

Related to the issue of the GOOD are matters that deal with morality and law and even etiquette.   This unit will touch on the questions to which each human must have some answer: Why be moral? What should be my moral code? 

At the conclusion of this unit each person should be in a better position to understand what is involved and to develop answers to those questions.

Here are the titles of the sections:

 Mores Laws and Morality

Moral Development

Relativism

Post Modernism: Normative Ethical Relativism

Ethical Theories

Teleological Theories

Utilitarianism

Deontological Theories

Natural law

Categorical Imperative

Justice as Fairness

Post modernism

SUMMARY and Final Advice

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© Copyright Philip A. Pecorino 2002. All Rights reserved.

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