| actual duty | A duty that should be performed in a particular situation.
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| act-utilitarianism | The doctrine that what makes an action right is that it maximizes happiness, everyone considered. Also termed traditional utilitarianism.
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| categorical imperative I | The doctrine that what makes an action right is that everyone could act on it, and you would be willing to have everyone act on it.
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| categorical imperative II | The doctrine that what makes an action right is that it treats people as ends in themselves and not merely as a means.
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| consequentialist (teleological) ethical theory | An ethical theory that judges the rightness or wrongness of an action in terms of its consequences.
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| cultural relativism | The doctrine that what makes an action right is that it is approved by one's culture.
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| divine command theory | The doctrine that what makes an action right is that God commands it to be done.
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| emotivism | The doctrine that moral utterances are expressions of emotion.
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| ethical egoism | The doctrine that what makes an action right is that it promotes one's own best interest.
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| formalist (deontological) ethical theory | An ethical theory that judges the rightness or wrongness of an action in terms of its form.
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| imperfect duty | A duty that does not always have to be performed.
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| instrumental (extrinsic) value | Value for the sake of something else.
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| intrinsic value | Value for its own sake.
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| negative right | People have a negative right to something if and only if others have a duty not to interfere with their pursuit of that thing.
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| perfect duty | A duty that must always be performed no matter what.
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| pluralistic formalism | The doctrine that what makes an action right is that it falls under the highest-ranked duty in a given situation.
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| positive right | People have a positive right to something if and only if others have a duty to provide them with what they need to acquire that thing.
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| prima facie duty | A duty that should be performed unless it conflicts with other prima facie duties.
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| principle of justice | The doctrine that equals should be treated equally (and unequals in proportion to their relevant differences.
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| principle of mercy | The doctrine that unnecessary suffering is wrong.
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| psychological hedonism | The doctrine that the only thing individuals can desire is their own happiness.
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| reversibility | A principle has reversibility if the person acting on it would be willing to have everyone act on it.
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| rule-utilitarianism | The doctrine that what makes an action right is that it falls under a rule that, if generally followed, would maximize happiness, everyone considered.
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| subjective absolutism | The doctrine that what makes an action right is that one approves of it.
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| subjective relativism | The doctrine that what makes an action right for someone is that it is approved by that person.
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| universalizability | A principle has universalizability if everyone can act on it.
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| virtue | An admirable human quality marked by a disposition to behave in certain ways in certain circumstances.
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| virtue ethics | A system of ethics based on the concept of a good person rather than that of a right action.
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2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education