PHL283H5 Study Guide - Kantianism, Neede, Darty

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Ethical relativism different cultures have different beliefs about what is right and wrong; it is manifest in their traditions, rituals, and laws. E. g. many countries including canada do not apply the death penalty because their governments & citizens came believe death penalty to be morally wrong. Ethical subjectivism: reduces morality to individual preferences (each individual creates his own morality) Es treats moral judgments as matters of taste, where no real argument is possible e. g. believing tea tastes better than coffee, or child abuse is wrong, but not everyone may share the same moral views. Ethical theories, ethical dilemmas, and the case study in bioethics: 4 ethical theories: utilitarianism - principle that actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority. That an action is right if it promotes happiness, and that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the guiding principle of conduct: kantianism, virtue ethics, feminist ethics.