PHIL 2380 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Normative Ethics, Categorical Imperative, Risk Perception
14 Mar 2016
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When arguing, one cannot move unproblematically from a descriptive statement (an is statement) to a normative statement (ought statement). Descriptive and normative statements are fundamentally different kinds of statements. Hume (last class) is mostly associated with this fallacy. We"ve studied two normative ethical theories: utilitarianism and deontology. We"ve seen the principle of utility and categorical imperatives (both formulations) and talked about how they can help guide actions, policies, etc Principle of utility: actions or behaviours are right in so far as they promote happiness or pleasure, wrong as they tend to produce unhappiness or pain. (higher order pleasures) Categorical imperative - (universal law formulation): act only on that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it become a universal law. Categorical imperative (means-ends formulation): act with reference to every rational being (whether yourself or another) so that it is an end in itself in your maxim[, and not a means to an end].
