Ethical theories

In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to the greatest good for the greatest number. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different characterizations, the basic idea that underpins them all is, in some sense, to maximize utility, which is often defined in terms of well-being or related concepts. For instance, Jeremy Bentham, the founder of utilitarianism, described utility as the capaci

In moral philosophy, deontological ethics or deontology () is the normative ethical theory that the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a series of rules and principles, rather than based on the consequences of the action. It is sometimes described as duty-, obligation-, or rule-based ethics. Deontological ethics is commonly contrasted to utilitarianism and other consequentialist theories, virtue ethics, and pragmatic ethics. In the deontological approach, the inherent rightfulness of actions is considered more important than their conseq

Speciesism () is a term used in philosophy regarding the treatment of individuals of different species. The term has several different definitions. Some specifically define speciesism as discrimination or unjustified treatment based on an individual's species membership, while others define it as differential treatment without regard to whether the treatment is justified or not. Richard D. Ryder, who coined the term, defined it as "a prejudice or attitude of bias in favour of the interests of members of one's own species and against those of members of other species". Speciesism results in the

Objectivism is a philosophical system named and developed by Russian-American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. She described it as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute".

In metaphilosophy and ethics, metaethics (meta-ethics) is the study of the nature, scope, ground, and meaning of moral judgment, ethical belief, or values. It is one of the three branches of ethics generally studied by philosophers, the others being normative ethics (questions of how one ought to be and act) and applied ethics (practical questions of right behavior in given, usually contentious, situations).

study of ethical action; branch of philosophical ethics that investigates questions about how one morally ought to act and examines standards for the rightness and wrongness of actions

normative ethical theories

philosophical positions about the differences in moral judgments across peoples and cultures

Emotivism is a meta-ethical view that claims that ethical sentences do not express propositions but emotional attitudes. Hence, it is colloquially known as the hurrah/boo theory. Influenced by the growth of analytic philosophy and logical positivism in the 20th century, the theory was stated vividly by A. J. Ayer in his 1936 book Language, Truth and Logic, but its development owes more to C. L. Stevenson.

ethical position that moral agents should act in their own self-interest

Ethical theory

Contractualism as a broad term refers to a family of political or ethical theories that have their roots in the social contract tradition. Contractualist ethical theories base morality in mutually beneficial agreement or contract among rational, reasonable agents. Contractualism is sometimes referred to as the "third approach" in morality as opposed to its two prominent rivals, consequentialism and deontology. Contractualism in its narrower meaning refers to one particular branch of contractualist ethical theories developed by T. M. Scanlon.

academic discipline

ethical view that most actions are intrinsically right or wrong, regardless of context or consequence

Conventionalism is the philosophical attitude that fundamental principles of a certain kind are grounded on (explicit or implicit) agreements in society, rather than on external reality. Unspoken rules play a key role in the philosophy's structure. Although this attitude is commonly held with respect to the rules of grammar, its application to the propositions of ethics, law, science, biology, mathematics, and logic is more controversial.

ethical theory

Contextualism, also known as epistemic contextualism, is a family of views in philosophy which emphasize the context in which an action, utterance, or expression occurs. Proponents of contextualism argue that, in some important respect, the action, utterance, or expression can only be understood relative to that context. Contextualist views hold that philosophically controversial concepts, such as "meaning P", "knowing that P", "having a reason to A", and possibly even "being true" or "being right" only have meaning relative to a specified context. Other philosophers contend that context-depen

meta-ethical view that nothing is intrinsically moral or immoral

The view that true altruism in humans is impossible

position that a universal ethic applies universally to all

thumb|Infographic comparing the number of humans in the past (red), present (green), and next 800,000 years (yellow), in a scenario where humanity's population stabilizes at 11 billion with a life expectancy of 88 yearsLongtermism is the ethical view that positively influencing the long-term future is a key moral priority. It is an important concept in effective altruism and a primary motivation for efforts that aim to reduce existential risks to humanity.

metaethical position

ethical theory

argument focused on ethics

persistence of will in obtaining the optimal quality of spiritual, mental, physical, and material being

Sentientism (or sentiocentrism) is an ethical philosophy that places sentience at the center of moral concern. It holds that moral consideration extends to all sentient beings. Gradualist sentientism assigns moral consideration based on the degree of sentience.

Christian theology

ethical theory; a form of negative consequentialism

In ethics, welfarism is a theory that well-being, what is good for someone or what makes a life worth living, is the only thing that has intrinsic value. In its most general sense, it can be defined as descriptive theory about what has value but some philosophers also understand welfarism as a moral theory, that what one should do is ultimately determined by considerations of well-being. The right action, policy or rule is the one leading to the maximal amount of well-being. In this sense, it is often seen as a type of consequentialism, and can take the form of utilitarianism.

family of views in moral epistemology

Decisionism (derived from the German Dezisionismus, which is sometimes encountered untranslated in English texts) is a political, ethical and jurisprudential doctrine which states that moral or legal precepts are the product of decisions made by political or legal bodies. According to decisionism, it is not the content of the decision, but rather the fact that it is a decision made by the proper authority, or by using a correct method, which determines its validity.

Ethical theory which postulates that societal progress can inform standards of moral behavior

form of ulilitarian ethics that defines well-being in terms of satisfied and frustrated preferences

theory that morality is commanded by, and originates only from, the divine

Non-cognitivism is the meta-ethical view that ethical sentences do not express propositions (i.e., statements) and thus cannot be true or false (they are not truth-apt). A noncognitivist denies the cognitivist claim that "moral judgments are capable of being objectively true, because they describe some feature of the world." If moral statements cannot be true, and if one cannot know something that is not true, non-cognitivism implies that moral knowledge is impossible.

metaethical view that ethical sentences function similarly to imperatives which are universalizable—whoever makes a moral judgment is committed to the same judgment in any situation where the same relevant facts obtain

metaethical theory that there are several values, equally correct/fundamental, yet in conflict with each other, and that such incompatible values may be incommensurable, i.e. there is no objective ordering of them by importance

ethical positions prioritizing the reduction of suffering

In meta-ethics, expressivism is a theory about the meaning of moral language. According to expressivism, sentences that employ moral terms – for example, "It is wrong to torture an innocent human being" – are not descriptive or fact-stating; moral terms such as "wrong", "good", or "just" do not refer to real, in-the-world properties. The primary function of moral sentences, according to expressivism, is not to assert any matter of fact but rather to express an evaluative attitude toward an object of evaluation. Because the function of moral language is non-descriptive, moral sentences do not h

theory in meta-ethics

meta-ethical view

meta-ethical view

form of utilitarianism that says an action is right as it conforms to a rule that leads to the greatest good

the meta-ethical view that ethical sentences express propositions and can therefore be true or false

type of ethical theory

Doctrine associated with John Piper and Vernard Eller

Prioritarianism, the priority view, or priority to the worst off is a perspective within ethics and political philosophy stating that "social welfare orderings should give explicit priority to the worse off". Prioritarianism resembles utilitarianism, and is likewise a form of aggregative consequentialism.

TESCREAL is a neologism proposed by computer scientist Timnit Gebru and philosopher Émile P. Torres. An acronym, it stands for Transhumanism, Extropianism, Singularitarianism, (modern) Cosmism, Rationalists (the internet community, not to be confused with other uses of the term), Effective Altruism, and Longtermism. Gebru and Torres argue that these ideologies should be treated as an "interconnected and overlapping" group with shared origins. They claim these constitute a movement that allows its proponents to use the threat of human extinction to justify expensive or detrimental projects and

thumb|right|130px|Personism states that being human does not give one exclusive claim to moral rights.

flavour of utilitarianism

meta-ethical view

consequentialist ethical theory that gives greater weight to negative value (bad) than positive value (good)