Philosophy
I've never understood why people say "moral and ethical" as in "the moral and ethical implications of that action are serious." I've always thought the two words were synonymous making that phrase redundant, saying the same thing over again, and redundant. Is there a distinction I'm missing here? What is the difference between ethical and moral? Can an immoral act be ethically permissible, can an unethical act be morally necessary, or do they mean the same thing?
- High Maintenance As A Moral Category
We had our senior thesis presentations the other day and one of our seniors wrote on the moral responsibilities that stem from friendship relations. She took an Aristotelian sort of approach and during the Q&A section, a colleague raised the...
- Ethical/moral, Corporate Personhood, And Same-sex Muppet Nuptuals
C. Ewing asks, "Is there a difference between moral and ethical? If so, what is it? Why do we make the distinction? Should we? Is it helpful?"I've always found it odd when people say that something has "moral AND ethical ramifications" since I always...
- Somebody Please Explain Situational Ethics To Me
One of the bogeymen of the right is "situational ethics." I will admit that I haven't a clue what it is they mean. Some mean ethical relativism, and that has its own set of problems, but others clearly intend something else and I'm not sure what...
- Sins Of The Left: The Moral Poverty Of Ethical Subjectivism
Since my discussion of libertarianism has been getting some attention from the folks who have ventured over from Pharyngula, here's the companion piece about the problems with ethical subjectivism. There is also a nice post on a similar issue at Philosophy,...
- Sins Of The Left: The Moral Poverty Of Ethical Subjectivism
When I teach ethics, the most common view in the room is Ethical Subjectivism, that moral judgments are purely a matter of personal decision. Everyone has his or her own ethical system and the fact that you consider an act morally right means that, for...
Philosophy
Moral and Ethical?
I've never understood why people say "moral and ethical" as in "the moral and ethical implications of that action are serious." I've always thought the two words were synonymous making that phrase redundant, saying the same thing over again, and redundant. Is there a distinction I'm missing here? What is the difference between ethical and moral? Can an immoral act be ethically permissible, can an unethical act be morally necessary, or do they mean the same thing?
- High Maintenance As A Moral Category
We had our senior thesis presentations the other day and one of our seniors wrote on the moral responsibilities that stem from friendship relations. She took an Aristotelian sort of approach and during the Q&A section, a colleague raised the...
- Ethical/moral, Corporate Personhood, And Same-sex Muppet Nuptuals
C. Ewing asks, "Is there a difference between moral and ethical? If so, what is it? Why do we make the distinction? Should we? Is it helpful?"I've always found it odd when people say that something has "moral AND ethical ramifications" since I always...
- Somebody Please Explain Situational Ethics To Me
One of the bogeymen of the right is "situational ethics." I will admit that I haven't a clue what it is they mean. Some mean ethical relativism, and that has its own set of problems, but others clearly intend something else and I'm not sure what...
- Sins Of The Left: The Moral Poverty Of Ethical Subjectivism
Since my discussion of libertarianism has been getting some attention from the folks who have ventured over from Pharyngula, here's the companion piece about the problems with ethical subjectivism. There is also a nice post on a similar issue at Philosophy,...
- Sins Of The Left: The Moral Poverty Of Ethical Subjectivism
When I teach ethics, the most common view in the room is Ethical Subjectivism, that moral judgments are purely a matter of personal decision. Everyone has his or her own ethical system and the fact that you consider an act morally right means that, for...