ADMS 3660 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Liberal Democracy, Normative Ethics, In Essence

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Through the ages, there have emerged multiple common moral theories and traditions. We will cover each one briefly below with explanations and how they differ from other moral theories. Consequentialist theories, unlike virtue and deontological theories, hold that only the consequences, or outcomes, of actions matter morally. According to this view, acts are deemed to be morally right solely on the basis of their consequences. The most common form of consequentialism is utilitarianism. What makes a choice or an action right is its conformity with a moral norm. Thus, an agent has a duty to act in accordance with a moral norm, irrespective of the (potentially beneficial) effects of acting otherwise. We might say that parents, for example, have an obligation to take care of their children. On a deontological view, parents must fulfill this obligation, even if breaking the obligation were to result, for the parents, in some great benefit (increased financial savings, for example).

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