Exam 13: Western Theories of Ethics

Utilitarian theory originated during the ____th century.

Natural law is interpreted as universal and unchangeable, as moral absolutism.

Natural law is associated closely with the _________ faith.

Discuss the history of virtue ethics.

Some have identified a _________ influence on Greek thinking, and it may be more than a coincidence that these two models models have a similar focus on moral character and an interest in finding a compromise between extreme positions.

Since the ______ there has been a renewed interest in virtue ethics, and more recently many of those in the character education movement rely on virtue ethics to define the character elements that they hope to foster.

There were several early contributors to natural law. St. Augustine in the 13ᵗʰ century and St. Thomas Aquinas in the 4th century offered a Christian version of Aristotle's ethics.

Keeping a promise-maintaining confidentiality:

Natural law theory is a morally absolute theory; it is relativistic.

Give a brief overview of respect for persons ethics.

A basic premise of ____________theory is that humans seek out happiness and pleasure.

Humans follow ______ law in what they do by nature; this is a law based on conscience.

Professionals are trained to develop the skills associated with best practice in their fields and a clear sense of their responsibility to society at large.

This is based primarily on an assessment of the specific circumstance(s) that occur, most often a one-time event.

Aristotelian philosophy and virtue ethics influenced the development of natural law.

This is based on the view that general rules determine ethical behavior.

The history of virtue ethics begins with the ancient _________philosophers.

According to C. E. Harris (2007), human inclinations are divided into two groups:

There may be two choices of action with one good and one bad possible outcome. One may still make the choice even though there can be a bad outcome. This is called:

Whereas nonmalevolence suggests that one must refrain from actions that do harm, __________ directs one to take active steps to promote the welfare of others.