Ethics Foundations and Decision-Making

📋 Course Outline

1. Utilitarianism Principles
2. Deontological Ethics
3. Virtue Ethics
4. Ethical Decision-Making
5. Moral Dilemmas
6. Key Philosophers
7. Ethical Application
8. Comparison of Theories
9. Case Studies
10. Moral Character
11. Ethical Principles
12. Practical Ethics

📖 1. Utilitarianism Principles

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Utilitarianism: An ethical theory that evaluates actions based on their consequences, aiming to maximize overall happiness or utility.
• Greatest Happiness Principle: The core idea that the morally right action is the one that produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number.
• Consequentialism: The moral doctrine that the rightness or wrongness of an action depends solely on its outcomes.
• Act Utilitarianism: A form of utilitarianism that assesses each individual action based on whether it maximizes happiness.
• Rule Utilitarianism: A form that evaluates the morality of following general rules that, when generally adopted, lead to the greatest good.
• Hedonic Calculus: A method proposed by Bentham to quantify happiness by measuring factors like intensity, duration, certainty, and extent of pleasure or pain.

📝 Essential Points