Thomas Aquinas's ethical framework, rooted in TERMS:

natural law theory, emphasizes human reason and

God's will as guides for moral action. He believed The Hedonic Calculus is a method developed
that natural law, accessible through reason, by Jeremy Bentham to assess the moral value
reveals fundamental principles for living a of actions by quantifying the amount of
virtuous life and achieving human flourishing. pleasure and pain they produce. It involves
Aquinas's ethics are not strictly deontological or considering seven factors: intensity, duration,
consequentialist but consider both the intention certainty, propinquity, fecundity, purity, and
and circumstances of an action in determining its extent. Essentially, it's a way to determine
moral value. which actions are "right" by maximizing
On the other hand, Aquinas believes that we can pleasure and minimizing pain for the greatest
never achieve complete or final happiness in this number of people.It is also known as felicific
life. For him, final happiness consists in beatitude, calculus is an algorithm formulated by
or supernatural union with God. Such an end lies utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham for
far beyond what we through our natural human calculating the degree or amount of pleasure
capacities can attain. For this reason, we not only that a specific action is likely to induce.
need the virtues, we also need God to transform
our nature—to perfect or “deify” it—so that we
might be suited to participate in divine beatitude.
Moreover, Aquinas believes that we inherited a
propensity to sin from our first parent, Adam.
While our nature is not wholly corrupted by sin, it
is nevertheless diminished by sin’s stain, as
evidenced by the fact that our wills are at enmity
with God’s. Thus we need God’s help in order to
restore the good of our nature and bring us into
Hedonism is a philosophical view that
conformity with his will. To this end, God imbues
prioritizes pleasure and the avoidance of pain
us with his grace which comes in the form of
as the primary goals of life. It suggests that
divinely instantiated virtues and gifts. Thomas
pleasure is the sole or chief good, and
Aquinas's ethical system is primarily known as
individuals should strive to maximize their
Thomism, particularly in terms of his natural law
overall pleasure by minimizing pain.
theory and focus on virtue ethics. His work also
explores the relationship between natural and A hypothetical imperative is originally
divine law, and the role of conscience and reason introduced in the philosophical writings of
in moral decision-making. Immanuel Kant.A hypothetical imperative is a
Kantian ethics refers to a deontological ethical command or rule of conduct that applies
theory developed by German philosopher conditionally, meaning it is only valid if a
Immanuel Kant that is based on the notion that "I particular goal or desire is assumed to exist.
ought never to act except in such a way that I It's a statement of the form "If you want X,
could also will that my maxim should become a then you should do Y". Hypothetical
universal law."Kantian ethics, developed by imperatives tell us how to act in order to
Immanuel Kant, is a deontological ethical theory achieve a specific goal and the commandment
emphasizing moral duties and universal laws. It of reason applies only conditionally, e.g. "I
focuses on the principle that actions are morally must study to get a degree." To put it simply, a
right if they are performed from a sense of duty hypothetical imperative is the blueprint for
and guided by principles that can be applied the use of reason in the interest of achieving a
universally. Central to Kantian ethics is the goal.
"categorical imperative," which dictates that one
should act only according to maxims that can be
willed as universal laws and always treat others as
ends in themselves, not merely as means.
Metaethics is a branch of philosophy that Applied ethics, also known as practical ethics,
examines the nature, scope, and meaning of moral focuses on applying moral principles to real-
judgments and values. world problems and dilemmas across various
Normative ethics is a branch of ethics concerned fields like medicine, business, and the
with determining what actions are morally right or environment.
wrong. A Bill of Rights is a formal declaration of
Rule utilitarianism is a moral theory that fundamental rights and freedoms that are
determines the rightness or wrongness of an guaranteed to all citizens, often within a
action by evaluating whether it conforms to a rule country's constitution. It's designed to protect
that, when generally followed, leads to the individuals from potential abuses of power by
greatest good. It focuses on the overall the government and other entities.
consequences of adhering to rules rather than the Deontology, also known as deontological
consequences of individual actions. In essence, ethics, is a moral theory that judges the
rule utilitarians believe that following a set of rules morality of an action based on whether it
that generally promote happiness and well-being adheres to a set of rules or principles, rather
is more morally sound than judging each action than on the consequences of that action. It
based on its individual outcome. Rule emphasizes duty and obligation, suggesting
utilitarianism is a form of utilitarianism that says that some actions are inherently right or
an action is right as it conforms to a rule that leads wrong regardless of their outcomes.
to the greatest good, or that "the rightness or Euthanasia, also known as mercy killing, is the
wrongness of a particular action is a function of practice of ending a person's life, usually to
the correctness of the rule of which it is an relieve suffering caused by a terminal illness
instance" or severe, unbearable pain.
A thought experiment is a mental exercise In ethical terms, "goodwill" primarily refers to
involving imagining a hypothetical scenario to the intention or will to act according to moral
explore a concept, argument, or theory. It's a way law or duty, regardless of personal
to test ideas and understand their implications inclinations or consequences. It's a central
without needing to conduct a real-world concept in Immanuel Kant's moral
experiment. philosophy, where he argued that the only
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that defines thing good without qualification is a good will.
morally right actions as those that produce the To act of a “good will” means to act out of a
greatest overall good, or happiness, for the sense of moral obligation or “duty.” In other
greatest number of people. words, the moral agent does a particular
the Veil of Ignorance is a philosophical thought action not because of what it produces (its
experiment, popularized by John Rawls, used to consequences) in terms of human experience,
imagine a fair society by forcing individuals to but because the agent recognizes by
design its rules without knowing their own social reasoning that it is the morally right thing to
position, abilities, or circumstances. It's a tool for do
promoting impartial and just decision-making by
eliminating biases stemming from personal
interests.
Virtue ethics is a moral philosophy that focuses
on developing virtuous character traits rather
than solely adhering to rules or maximizing good
outcomes. It emphasizes the importance of
cultivating virtues like honesty, courage, and
compassion, believing that ethical behavior arises
from a good character.