Chapter One
Ethics and Ethical Reasoning
© 2018 Cengage Learning. All
Rights Reserved.
, Why Study Ethics/What is
Ethics
Why study ethics?
There are differing views of moral rights and wrongs.
Matters are not always easy to judge.
What is ethics?
The set of values or principles held by individuals or
groups
A study of the various sets of values that people have
A branch of philosophy: moral philosophy
Philosophical questions can be asked about many
subjects.
Aesthetics is the philosophical study of art.
Epistemology is the philosophical study of
knowledge.
Normative ethics considers what is good, right, just.
Metaethics asks questions about the nature of ethics.
© 2018 Cengage Learning. All
Rights Reserved.
Ethics and Ethical Reasoning
© 2018 Cengage Learning. All
Rights Reserved.
, Why Study Ethics/What is
Ethics
Why study ethics?
There are differing views of moral rights and wrongs.
Matters are not always easy to judge.
What is ethics?
The set of values or principles held by individuals or
groups
A study of the various sets of values that people have
A branch of philosophy: moral philosophy
Philosophical questions can be asked about many
subjects.
Aesthetics is the philosophical study of art.
Epistemology is the philosophical study of
knowledge.
Normative ethics considers what is good, right, just.
Metaethics asks questions about the nature of ethics.
© 2018 Cengage Learning. All
Rights Reserved.