#ethics notes

[monsterastudies]

15 February - Prep for the semester to begin, finally catching up on writing out my notes from last year (yep, I'm quite behind). It's a good refresher on the principles of ethics and justice

[caffeinatedstudies]

June 21, 2021

Here’s some of my very messy notes from my cramming session today right before my ethics final. All I can see is thank goodness I’m done with it. ✌🏻

[thestudyingpaladin]

04.16.19|| 3:00 pm

Today was surprisingly productive! I completed a couple errands in the morning, and then got lunch at Wawa before heading to the Library. I worked on my ethics assignments and completed my last quiz! Whoop!

Blue Orangeade— TXT

[coffeeandteastudies]

27th of September, 2018

It’s been ages since I’ve posted something original, so here we go. Two weeks ago, I started college to study Social Work. Currently I’m completing my notes for ethics, which is hard but very interesting. In the near future I hope to share the notes I’ve been making on paper, but I’m not confident enough to show my handwriting yet. 

[studywithyashu]

29/100 days of productivity, and i’m about to drop DEAD after this all-nighter! Isn’t it weird I’m studying vet ethics and modules just to write up some college questionnaires? some of these questions were really tricky, and even though I did my best on those essays... I don’t know X-X

o well, the ethics study up will hopefully help me during my interviews. aaaaaa. 

[upscexaminfo]

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[tvandstethoscopes-blog]

Last week in ethics we learned all about arguing ethically. Since I’m redoing my notes I figured it might also help for me to type it out. 

An ethical argument isn’t what is happening on Facebook right now. No, an argument isn’t an attempt to persuade someone, that’s trickery, arguments are simply assertations that something is or isn’t true. it’s a group of statements, one of which is supported by the rest. 

Every argument is comprised of two parts: a premise and a conclusion. Sometimes it can be difficult to find the conclusion in an argument but common indicator words help to point out when they might be coming. Typical conclusion indicators are, therefore, hence, thus, & it follows. Some common premises indicators are, because, since, & for the reason. 

Deductive & Inductive Arguments

Two common types of arguments you will encounter are deductive and inductive. With deductive arguments, a flow is found that provides conclusive support & leaves little doubt that the conclusion is true. 

ex. Banks make money by charging interest. My bank charges me interest My bank makes money.

In the above example, the conclusion (my bank makes money) is supported by the prior two statements. Because the premise is true— banks make money by charging interest, and your bank charges you interest, then there is no doubt that the conclusion of your bank making money is true.

Inductive arguments are different from deductive ones in that they leave you with the probability that the premise is likely true, but it is not conclusive. 

ex. Every time I’ve walked by that dog it hasn’t tried to bite me So, next time I walk by that dog it won’t try to bite me.

While it’s possible that this is true, there’s no way to know for sure. Arguments based on events that will happen in the future are more often than not inductive arguments. Since none of us are fortune tellers, the truth of the conclusion can only be probably.  

Valid & Invalid Arguments

With valid arguments, it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be false at the same time. 

ex. Rich people shop at the Loft. Courtney shops at the Loft so she must be rich.

This is an example of an invalid argument because while it might be true that rich people shop at the store, Courtney may have gotten a gift card for her birthday, or the store is having a massive sale. So Courtney herself is not rich...but she’s shopping at the Loft. To turn this into a valid argument the probability needs to be removed:

Only rich people shop at the Loft. Courtney shops at the Loft, so she must be rich.

Whether the premises are true or not do not affect the validity of the argument. The validity of an argument is based solely on its form. 

A valid argument with a true premise is a sound argument.

Moral Arguments

The conclusion of a moral argument is always a moral statement. 

Moral statements affirm that an action is right or wrong. Nonmoral statements make no effort to judge good or bad acts, only to assert that something is true or false.

With moral arguments at least one premise must be a moral statement affirming a rule, and one premise must be a nonmoral statement about a state of affairs.

One premise must always be a moral statement because you can’t have a moral conclusion simply based on a fact. “You can’t judge what ought to be simply by what is.” Also, a nonmoral statement must be used to link a moral conclusion and moral premise. 

Bad Arguments (fallacies)

A good argument has true premises & a conclusion that follows those premises. A BAD argument either has false premises or a conclusion that doesn’t follow the supporting premises. 

Most frequently seen bad argument types Begging the question- Circular speak. Using a statement as both a premise and the conclusion.  Equivocation- assigning two different meanings to the same term Appeal to authority- relying on opinions of someone who is not actually an authority in the field. Slippery Slope- Stating that an action will inevitably lead to another action that will cause a disaster so you just shouldn’t do the first action. “Smoking weed is a slippery slope to murdering your uncle.” Straw Man- misrepresenting someone’s claim so that it can be easier to refute.  Appeal to person- That a claim should be rejected just because of the person who made the claim. Bad people can have good arguments, a claim must succeed or fail on it’s own merits not based on the characteristics of the person who said it. Hasty Generalization- drawing conclusions with too small of a sample size.