Ethics and Philosophy Terms

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Deontological

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From the Latin for ‘duty’, ethics focused on the intrinsic rightness and wrongness of actions.

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A priori

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Arguments which draw conclusions from the use of reason.

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A posteriori

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Arguments which draw conclusions based on observations through experience.

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Categorical imperative

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An unconditional moral obligation that is always binding irrespective of a person’s inclination or purpose.

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Duty

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Duties are created by the moral law, to follow it is our duty. The word deontological means duty-based.

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Good will

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A person of good will is a person who makes decisions according to the moral law.

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Hypothetical imperative

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A moral obligation that applies only if one desires the implied goal.

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Kingdom of ends

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An imagined future in which all people act in accordance to the moral law, the categorical imperative.

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Maxims

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Another word for moral rules, determined by reason.

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Teleological

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Looking to the end results in order to draw conclusions about what is right or wrong.