"Normative ethics is the study of ethical behaviour and is the branch of philosophical ethics that investigates questions regarding how one ought to act, in a moral sense."
An investigation into how we should act in various situations.
Ethics and Morality: Ethics deals with the study of right and wrong actions, while morality concerns the norms and values that guide human behavior.
Metaethics: The branch of ethics concerned with the nature of ethical thinking and language.
Moral Realism: The belief that there are objective moral truths that can be discovered by reason.
Moral Relativism: The belief that moral truths are relative to individual cultures or societies and cannot be defined objectively.
Moral Skepticism: The view that moral claims cannot be rationally justified or proved.
Deontology: A moral theory that emphasizes the importance of following moral rules and principles.
Utilitarianism: A moral theory that holds that the right action is that which produces the greatest amount of happiness or pleasure for the greatest number of people.
Virtue Ethics: A moral theory that focuses on cultivating virtues such as courage, kindness, and honesty as a way of guiding ethical behavior.
Moral Responsibility: The concept that individuals are responsible for their actions and the consequences that arise from them.
Theoretical Ethics: The study of fundamental ethical concepts, such as reason, duty, and obligation.
Applied Ethics: The application of ethical principles to specific practical situations or social issues.
Bioethics: The application of ethical principles to the field of healthcare and the life sciences.
Environmental Ethics: The application of ethical principles to environmental issues and concerns.
Animal Ethics: The ethical treatment of animals and their rights.
Feminist Ethics: The application of feminist theory to the field of ethics, focusing on issues of gender, power, and justice.
Deontological Ethics: This type of ethics focuses on the moral rules and duties that prescribe certain actions as inherently wrong or right, irrespective of the consequences or situation.
Consequentialist Ethics: This type of ethics judges the morality of actions based on their outcomes or consequences.
Virtue Ethics: This type of ethics emphasizes the inherent virtues or character traits that enable individuals to act with excellence.
Care Ethics: This type of ethics is generally concerned with the relationships and connections among people and how they ought to be treated.
Pragmatic Ethics: This type of ethics concerns determining the “best” course of action using a practical and realistic approach.
Contractarian Ethics: This type of ethics posits that moral philosophy should be based on mutual agreements between people.
Feminist Ethics: This type of ethics aims to address gender-based issues and seek egalitarian ideals of justice and fair treatment for all.
Environmental Ethics: This type of ethics focuses on the moral dimensions of human interaction with the natural environment.
Relational Ethics: This type of ethics posits that morality is constructed through interpersonal relations rather than rational principles.
Postmodern Ethics: This type of ethics seeks to challenge traditional modes of ethical thought, by emphasizing the highest possible moral ideals of individual moral growth and development.
"Normative ethics is distinct from meta-ethics in that the former examines standards for the rightness and wrongness of actions, whereas the latter studies the meaning of moral language and the metaphysics of moral facts."
"Normative ethics is distinct from applied ethics in that the former is more concerned with 'who ought one be' rather than the ethics of a specific issue."
"Normative ethics is also distinct from descriptive ethics, as the latter is an empirical investigation of people's moral beliefs."
"In this context, normative ethics is sometimes called prescriptive, as opposed to descriptive ethics."
"On certain versions of the meta-ethical view of moral realism, moral facts are both descriptive and prescriptive at the same time."
"An adequate justification for a group of principles needs an explanation of those principles."
"Unless a coherent explanation of the principles (or demonstrate that they require no additional justification) can be given, they cannot be considered justified."
"Classical theories in this vein include utilitarianism, Kantianism, and some forms of contractarianism."
"These theories mainly offered the use of overarching moral principles to resolve difficult moral decisions."
"Normative ethics investigates questions regarding how one ought to act, in a moral sense."
"Meta-ethics studies the meaning of moral language and the metaphysics of moral facts."
"Normative ethics is more concerned with 'who ought one be'."
"Descriptive ethics is an empirical investigation of people's moral beliefs."
"They cannot be considered justified unless a coherent explanation of the principles can be given."
"Moral facts are both descriptive and prescriptive at the same time."
"Normative ethics is more concerned with 'who ought one be' rather than the ethics of a specific issue."
"Normative ethics is sometimes called prescriptive, as opposed to descriptive ethics."
"Classical theories in this vein include utilitarianism, Kantianism, and some forms of contractarianism."
"These theories mainly offered the use of overarching moral principles to resolve difficult moral decisions."