JSB171 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Worship God, Preference Utilitarianism, Revised Version
Document Summary
The field of ethics involves systemising, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong. Philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general areas: metaethics, normative ethics and applied ethics. Metaethics investigates where our ethical principles come from and what they mean. Metaethical answers to these questions focus on issues of universal truths, the will of god, the role of reason in ethical judgements, and the meaning of ethical terms themselves. Two issues are prominent within metaethics: metaphysical issues concern whether morality exists independently of humans, psychological issues concern the underlying mental basis of our moral judgements and conduct. Normative ethics takes on a more practical task, which is to ascertain the moral standards which regulate right or wrong conduct. This could involve identifying the good" habits that we should acquire and practice, the duties that we should follow, or the consequences of our behaviour on others.
