PHI 2397 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Epicurus, Eastern Philosophy, Meaningful Life

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHI 2397
• Professor: Jon Miller

Document Summary

Ethics and morality: words used interchangeably, but there are specific differences: ethics usually refers to personal code/criteria for making choices. Ethics is about choosing; how do i know what the right choice is: ethics= ancient art/science of establishing the criteria for determining what is the right thing to do. Ethics assume that we have freedom of (cid:272)hoi(cid:272)e a(cid:374)d free (cid:449)ill. Nor(cid:373)ati(cid:448)e theories are the largest amounts of ethical theories. Thomas hobbes- 17th century english philosopher: what we ought to do depends on the situation in which we find ourselves, wrote leviathan (argues about social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign. Milton freidman- 20th century american economist: (cid:862)ethi(cid:272)s has (cid:374)othi(cid:374)g to do (cid:449)ith (cid:271)usi(cid:374)ess. Psychological egoism: humans are always motivated by self-interest even when it seems to be acts of altruism. Psychological altruism: we naturally try to help other people even though you are just trying to help yourself. Business: when you offer a product or service to another.