Ethics And Moral Philosophy

Normative Ethics; Perspective

Normative Ethics                                                                                                                                         Normative Ethics is concerned with the articulation and the justification of the fundamental principles that govern the issues of how we should live and what we morally ought to do. Its most general concerns are providing an account of moral observation and, possibly, articulating a decision procedure to guide moral action. Normative ethics involves arriving at moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct. In a sense, it is a search for an ideal litmus test of proper behavior. The Golden Rule is a classic example of a normative principle: We should do to others what we would want others to do to us. Since I do not want my neighbor to steal my car, then it is wrong for me to steal her car. I would want people to feed me if I was starving, so I will feed the people who are starving. Using this same reasoning, I can theoretically determine whether any possible action is right or wrong. If I shall steal from my neighbor, and I would not wish for my neighbor to steal from me, my actions would be considered immoral. The key assumption in normative ethics is that there is only one ultimate criterion of moral conduct, whether it is a single rule or a set of principles. Three strategies will be noted: virtue theories, duty theories, and consequentialist theories.