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descriptive ethics
the scientific study of moral beliefs and practices
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normative ethics
the study of principles, rules, or theories that guide our actions and judgements
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metaethics
the study of meaning and logical structure of moral beliefs
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applied ethics
the application of moral norms to specific moral issues or cases, particularly those in a profession such as medicine or law
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three main divisions of ethics
- normative ethics
- metaethics
- applied ethics
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objectivism
the view that some moral principles are valid for everyone
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cultural relativism
the view that an action is morally right if one's culture approves of it
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subjective realivism
an action = right if one approves of it
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emotivism
the view that moral utterances are neither true nor false but expressions of emotions/attitudes
there are no moral facts, nothing is good/bad
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statement
an assertion that something is or is not the case
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argument
a group of statements, one of which is supposed to be supported by the rest
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premise
a supporting statement in an argument
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deductive argument
an argument that is supposed to give logically conclusive support to its conclusion
- valid if logical support for conclusion
- invalid if not
sound if also true premises
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inductive argument
an argument that does not offer logically conclusive support for the conclusion
- strong probable support for conclusion
- cognent - premises also true
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what follows in valid arguments
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what follows in inductive arguments
strong, weak, cogent
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moral statement
a statement affirming that an action is right or wrong or that a person/ones motif or character, is good/bad
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nonmoral statement
a statement that does not affirm that an action is right/wrong or that a person or ones motive or character, is good/bad
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