Information Literacy on Ethics

Literacy on Ethics

Meta Ethics

"Meta-ethics, Normative Ethics, and Applied Ethics. (20111).

http://www.phil.cmu.edu/Cavalier/80130/part2/II_preface.html

The website provides a brief explanation of the difference between the three types of ethics. This website defines metaethics as the nature of ethics and how people make determinations of moral reasoning. It questions whether ethical decisions are made by the individual or are reflective of societal norms. It is a form of ethics that actually questions how ethics are defined.

Hare, R.M. (1952). "The Language of Morals."

This article discusses how we as people make decisions about ethics based on the dialogue we have as people from the same society. If there is one singular ethical language that everyone shares in, then there is unlikely to be variations from it. What we consider ethical or virtuous is all based on what society tells us is good. We accept all that the society tells us as good is something that is good.

Normative Ethics

"Normative Ethical Principles and Theories: A Brief Overview." (2002).

http://faculty.stedwards.edu/ursery/norm.htm

The site explains what normative ethics is. It defines the term as the belief in how things ought to be in an ideal world. It is the idea that there is one accepted version of how decisions should be made in terms of whether or not they are ethical. If this were an ideal world, then people would not have to worry if they were making the right decision. Rather, the ethical decision would be obvious at all times.

Kagan, Shelly (1992). "The Structure of Normative Ethics." Philosophical Perspectives.

University of Illinois: Chicago, IL. 6.

Shelly Kagan explains that normative ethics is actually the basis for the entire social structure of society. The normative branch of ethical decision making is often the basis for the laws and legislation of the society. The rules that a society sets for itself are based on what the government hopes its citizens will do in a certain situation. Behaviors will be dictated based on what the society as a whole agrees should be done.

Applied Ethics:

Beauchamp, Tom (2008). "The Principle of Beneficence in Applied Ethics."

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/principle-beneficence/

Beauchamp argues that being benevolent or beneficent is how a person effectively uses applied ethics. Whereas many forms of ethics relate to hypothetical situations, the applied system of ethics more refers to how these things work in real-world situations. The author traces the link between beneficence and applied ethics throughout history and determines that the two are intricately linked.