---
name: ethics
description: "Master ethical theory - metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Use for: moral philosophy, right/wrong, virtue, duty, consequences, moral realism. Triggers: 'moral', 'ethical', 'ethics', 'right', 'wrong', 'virtue', 'duty', 'consequences', 'deontology', 'utilitarianism', 'virtue ethics', 'metaethics', 'moral realism', 'consequentialism', 'Kantian', 'categorical imperative', 'trolley problem', 'moral dilemma'."
---

# Ethics Skill

Master ethical theory: metaethics (nature of morality), normative ethics (what we ought to do), and applied ethics (specific issues).

## Structure of Ethics

```
ETHICAL THEORY
══════════════

METAETHICS
├── What is the nature of moral claims?
├── Are there moral facts?
└── Can we have moral knowledge?

NORMATIVE ETHICS
├── What makes actions right/wrong?
├── Consequentialism, deontology, virtue ethics
└── General moral principles

APPLIED ETHICS
├── Specific moral issues
├── Bioethics, environmental ethics, business ethics
└── Applying principles to cases
```

---

## Metaethics

### Moral Realism vs. Anti-Realism

**Moral Realism**:
- There are objective moral facts
- Moral claims are truth-apt
- Some moral beliefs are true

**Moral Anti-Realism**:
- Error theory: Moral claims are false
- Non-cognitivism: Moral claims aren't truth-apt
- Relativism: Truth relative to culture/individual

### Non-Cognitivism

**Emotivism** (Ayer, Stevenson):
- "X is wrong" = "Boo X!"
- Moral claims express attitudes, not beliefs

**Prescriptivism** (Hare):
- "X is wrong" = "Don't do X!"
- Moral claims are universal prescriptions

**Expressivism** (Blackburn, Gibbard):
- Moral claims express non-cognitive states
- But can still be "true" in a deflated sense

### Moral Epistemology

**Intuitionism**: We directly perceive moral truths
**Rationalism**: Moral truths knowable a priori
**Naturalism**: Moral facts = natural facts
**Constructivism**: Moral truths constructed by rational procedures

---

## Normative Ethics

### Consequentialism

**Core Idea**: Actions are right if they produce best outcomes

```
CONSEQUENTIALIST THEORIES
═════════════════════════

UTILITARIANISM
├── Maximize happiness/pleasure
├── Bentham: Quantity of pleasure
├── Mill: Quality matters too
└── Hedonistic vs. preference utilitarianism

ACT UTILITARIANISM
├── Each act evaluated by its consequences
└── Problems: demanding, counter-intuitive

RULE UTILITARIANISM
├── Follow rules that maximize utility
└── Handles some objections

CONSEQUENTIALIST FORMULA:
Right action = Action that maximizes good outcomes
```

**Objections**:
- Integrity (Williams): Alienates us from our projects
- Justice: Might justify punishing innocents
- Demandingness: Requires constant maximization
- Calculation: Impossible to know all consequences

### Deontology

**Core Idea**: Actions have intrinsic rightness/wrongness regardless of consequences

```
KANTIAN ETHICS
══════════════

CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE (CI)
├── Formula of Universal Law
│   └── Act only on maxims you can will as universal laws
├── Formula of Humanity
│   └── Treat humanity never merely as means
└── Formula of Autonomy
    └── Act as if legislating for a kingdom of ends

APPLYING THE CI:
1. Formulate maxim (e.g., "Lie when convenient")
2. Universalize: What if everyone acted this way?
3. If contradiction (logical or practical), action is wrong
4. Lying universalized → No trust → Lying pointless
   ∴ Lying is wrong
```

**Deontological Constraints**:
- Some acts wrong regardless of consequences
- Negative duties (don't harm) stronger than positive (help)
- Agent-relative: My killing is worse than allowing death

### Virtue Ethics

**Core Idea**: Focus on character, not acts or rules

```
VIRTUE ETHICS
═════════════

EUDAIMONIA (Flourishing)
├── The good life; well-being
├── Achieved through virtue
└── Not just feeling good

VIRTUES
├── Character traits that promote flourishing
├── Courage, temperance, justice, wisdom
├── Acquired through habituation
└── Mean between extremes

PHRONESIS (Practical Wisdom)
├── Knowing what virtue requires in situations
├── Cannot be reduced to rules
└── Developed through experience

VIRTUOUS PERSON AS STANDARD:
Right action = What the virtuous person would do
```

**Neo-Aristotelian**: MacIntyre, Foot, Hursthouse
**Challenges**: Action guidance, moral disagreement, relativism

### Comparison

| Theory | What's Primary | Right Action |
|--------|---------------|--------------|
| Consequentialism | Good outcomes | Maximizes good |
| Deontology | Right acts/duties | Follows rules |
| Virtue Ethics | Good character | What virtuous do |

---

## Thought Experiments

### Trolley Problems

```
TROLLEY CASES
═════════════

SWITCH:
Trolley heading to kill 5.
Flip switch → diverts to kill 1.
Most say: Permissible

FOOTBRIDGE:
Trolley heading to kill 5.
Push large man off bridge to stop trolley.
Most say: Impermissible

WHY THE DIFFERENCE?
├── Doing vs. allowing
├── Intended vs. foreseen (Double Effect)
├── Using person as means
└── Physical contact
```

### Experience Machine

Nozick: Would you plug into a machine that simulates perfect happiness?
- Most say no → Pleasure isn't everything
- Authenticity, achievement, reality matter

### Violinist

Thomson: You wake up connected to a famous violinist who needs your kidneys.
- Argues: Even if fetus is person, abortion can be permissible
- Your body, your choice

---

## Applied Ethics Topics

### Bioethics
- Abortion, euthanasia, genetic enhancement
- Autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, justice

### Environmental Ethics
- Animal rights, climate change, future generations
- Anthropocentrism vs. biocentrism

### Social/Political Ethics
- Distributive justice, human rights
- Rawls' veil of ignorance, libertarianism

---

## Key Vocabulary

| Term | Meaning |
|------|---------|
| Deontology | Duty-based ethics |
| Consequentialism | Outcome-based ethics |
| Utilitarianism | Maximize happiness |
| Virtue | Excellence of character |
| Eudaimonia | Flourishing, well-being |
| Categorical imperative | Unconditional moral law |
| Supererogatory | Beyond duty, praiseworthy |
| Prima facie | At first glance, defeasible |
| Intrinsic value | Valuable in itself |
| Instrumental value | Valuable as means |
| Moral realism | Objective moral facts exist |

---

## Integration with Repository

### Related Themes
- `thoughts/morality/`: Ethical explorations
- `thoughts/life_meaning/`: Good life, flourishing