Exam 1 Flashcards
Autonomy
Human beings having capacity to think and act for themselves, therefore able to govern themselves.
Philosophical Anarchism
the view that there are no good moral reasons why we should obey government; hence, we have no moral obligation to submit to governmental authority.
Principle of Divine Right
government is an institution willed by God for the benefit of His people, and God has granted certain people the right to govern others on His behalf.
Principle of Superiority
those who are superior have a right to rule over those who are inferior. Those who are experts in the art of governing—those who understand what is good for the community as a whole and have the will to do what is good for the community as a whole—have a right to rule.
Aristocracy
means “rule by the best” principle defended by Plato and Aristotle where the experts who know best or are best at a given subject govern those who are inferior
Meritocracy
a society in which (a) there is equality of opportunity, and (b) rewards and remuneration (e.g., desirable social positions and income) gained by individuals are proportional to their individual desert. In a meritocracy, citizens “race” or “compete” with others for desirable social positions and income. The race or competition must be fair—each citizen must have an equal opportunity to win the race or competition.
Principle of Consent (Social Contract)
- governmental authority is justified by virtue of the consent (voluntary agreement) of the governed.
- Thomas Hobbes
State of Nature
- a condition in which there is no functioning government—where there is no law, no police, no courts, etc.
- Hobbes argues that life in a state of nature would be a “war of every man against every man”
Express (Explicit) Consent
the behavior itself of Voluntarily giving consent to be govern
Tacit (Implicit) Consent
giving a implied consent through
-obey the government by accepting benefits from the government -being within the jurisdiction of the government.
Right To Exit
- a component of Tacit Consent
- someone does not wish to be subject to a government’s authority, Locke says, that person may always leave (exit) the country.
Principle of Utility
- the basic aim of morality is to maximize the greatest good for the greatest number of people
- if the government accomplishes this then it morally justified for citizens to submit to its authority
Principle of Gratitude
obligation to submit to authority on the grounds that citizens are showing thankfulness for benefits they have received
Civil Disobedience
a citizens moral right to defy governmental authority?
Legal Justification
Though normally wrong, given the circumstance in this scenario the act is deemed right
Exculpating Excuse
One is not blameworthy at all for the civil disobedience
Mitigating Excuse
One is less blameworthy than usual for civil disobedience
Consequentialism
the consequences of one’s conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct.
Rights
are moral entitlements
-if one has a right or entitlement it is morally wrong to deny that right
Negative Right (Liberty)
holder of a negative (liberty) right is morally entitled to non-interference. Examples include :
- the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;
- the rights to free speech and assembly;
- the right to freely exercise one’s religion;
- the right to bear arms;
- the right to property.
Positive Right (Benefit)
one who holds a positive right is morally entitled to be provided with some good or service. Examples:
- the right to subsistence goods (food, clothing, and shelter);
- the rights to an education, healthcare, and a job.
Natural (Human) Right
rights that people have simply in virtue of their being humans. Natural rights are universal in the sense that all people have these rights regardless of where they reside.
Artificial Right (Conventional, Civil, Political)
rights that people have in virtue of their membership in some specific social-political community. These rights are relative in the sense that people in one social-political community may have certain civil rights that people in another social-political community do not have.
Eminent Domain
the right for the government to take away private property from an Invidivdual without consent for a common good
Liberalism
-social-political ideologies of the modern world.
-Major philosophical exponents of liberalism include John Locke, Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, John Rawls, and Robert Nozick.
-The United States is, in broad terms, a liberal society.
-
Two components of Liberalism
1) there is a strong presumption in favor of individual liberty (freedom);
2) the state should be neutral with respect to different conceptions of the good life.