Ethical Systems in Moral Decision Making

Deontological Ethical Systems

Divine Command Theory
One of the solely deontological ethical systems
Asserts that morality is following our obligation to God, our creator, our Father.
Purpose in life is to act under Gods command, look after the perfect world he gave us
Due…

o Therefore, duty based= deontological
o However, it has teleological elements. The purpose of the precepts is to guide to
eudaimonia, this could be considered teleological as it is acting with an end goal in mind.
If a moral choice or action will not contribute to achieving eudaimonia, is it…

Relativist, consequentialist
No fixed moral rules, judges an action by its consequences or telos. Actions are not
intrinsically good but extrinsically good
Humans are primarily motivated by pleasure and the avoidance of pain.
Benthams argues that you should maximise happiness for the majority, principle of
utility `greatest happiness for the…

Embryo testing, they would probably prefer not to be tested. Do they have preferences?
Depends on when you think life begins, or if they have feelings and a soul?


Conscience
Oxford English Dictionary: "A moral sense of right and wrong, especially as felt by a
person and affecting behaviour or…