Normative Ethics

1
Normative Ethics

• Section 1
• Moral Standing, Value, Rights and Rightness

2
Moral Standing

• Moral standing belongs to things which ought to
  be taken into consideration when decisions are
  being made (Chapter 2, Section 2).
• Scope of moral standing wider than that of
  moral rights.

3
Intrinsic Value

• States of affairs have intrinsic value when there
  are independent reasons for protecting or
  promoting them.
• They are valuable in themselves, whether or not
  they are valuable for further reasons (Chapter 2,
  Section 2).
• Intrinsic value of well-being
• suggests that obligations could be related to
  protecting it (whether or not we talk of rights).

4
Equal Consideration

• Giving equal consideration to equal interests is
  compatible with prioritising greater interests.
• Not obligatory to treat all beings equally.
• One can give equal consideration to equal
  interests whilst prioritising the needs of, for
  example, beings with certain distinctive
  capacities.

5
Consider

• the relation of needs to obligations.

6
Normative Theory
Concerned with issues like what makes right
actions right.

• Consequentialism
• focuses on the consequences of actions
• John Stuart Mills rule-utilitarianism.

• Deontological theory
• focuses on appropriate rules
• Immanuel Kant James Sterba.

7
Consider

• A successful normative ethics theory would be an
  inclusive one, capable of explaining (at least)
  obligatory as well as permissible or justifiable
  acts omissions.

8
Right Action

• Deeds can be right because
• they are the morally best thing to do
• they are obligatory all-things-considered
• they are obligatory other-things-being equal.

9
Consider

• the difference between what is obligatory
  all-things-considered and obligatory
  other-things-being equal.

10
Right Action

• At times, more than one of a cluster of actions
  would be right.
• Some actions are supererogatory right, but
  beyond the call of duty.
• Consider examples.