Normative ethics

Definition

Normative ethics is a branch of ethics that seeks to establish standards and principles that guide moral conduct, focusing on what actions are right or wrong and what individuals ought to do. It aims to create frameworks that can help in evaluating behaviors and decisions based on moral considerations, often addressing questions of moral obligation and ethical theories.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Normative ethics helps individuals assess moral dilemmas by providing guidelines for making ethical choices.
2. It includes various theories such as deontology, consequentialism, and virtue ethics, each offering different perspectives on what constitutes right action.
3. The field addresses not only individual actions but also broader societal norms and values, influencing laws and public policy.
4. Normative ethics is critical in professional fields like medicine, law, and business, where ethical decisions significantly impact lives and society.
5. Discussions in normative ethics often lead to debates about moral relativism versus moral absolutism, challenging the universality of ethical principles.

Review Questions

• How does normative ethics provide a framework for assessing moral dilemmas?
  • Normative ethics provides a structured approach to evaluating moral dilemmas by offering various theories and principles that can guide decision-making. By establishing criteria for what constitutes right and wrong actions, it helps individuals analyze situations systematically. This framework enables a clearer understanding of obligations and ethical responsibilities in complex scenarios.
• Compare and contrast deontological ethics and consequentialism as they relate to normative ethics.
  • Deontological ethics and consequentialism are two main theories within normative ethics that approach morality differently. Deontological ethics focuses on the inherent morality of actions based on rules or duties, asserting that some actions are morally obligatory regardless of their outcomes. In contrast, consequentialism evaluates the morality of actions based solely on their consequences, suggesting that the ends justify the means. This fundamental difference highlights the diverse perspectives in normative ethics regarding how to determine what is right or wrong.
• Evaluate the role of normative ethics in shaping societal values and legal systems, particularly in contemporary issues.
  • Normative ethics plays a vital role in shaping societal values and influencing legal systems by providing a philosophical foundation for determining moral standards. In contemporary issues such as healthcare, environmental policies, and human rights, normative ethical frameworks guide lawmakers and decision-makers in establishing laws that reflect ethical considerations. By facilitating discussions on what constitutes justice and fairness, normative ethics ensures that legal systems are aligned with evolving societal values, promoting accountability and ethical governance.

Related terms

Deontological ethics: An ethical theory that emphasizes the importance of following rules or duties in determining what is right, regardless of the consequences.

Consequentialism:

An ethical theory that determines the rightness or wrongness of actions based on the outcomes or consequences they produce.

Virtue ethics: An ethical approach that focuses on the character of the moral agent rather than on specific actions or rules, emphasizing virtues as a basis for ethical behavior.