Descriptive ethics, also known as comparative ethics, is the study of people's beliefs about morality.[1] It contrasts with prescriptive or normative ethics, which is the study of ethical theories that prescribe how people ought to act, and with meta-ethics, which is the study of what ethical terms and theories actually refer to. The following examples of questions that might be considered in each field illustrate the differences between the fields:
Descriptive ethics: What do people think is right?
Meta-ethics: What does "right" even mean?
Normative (prescriptive) ethics: How should people act?
Applied ethics: How do we take moral knowledge and put it into practice?
Descriptive ethics is a form of empirical research into the attitudes of individuals or groups of people. In other words, this is the division of philosophical or general ethics that involves the observation of the moral decision-making process with the goal of describing the phenomenon. Those working on descriptive ethics aim to uncover people's beliefs about such things as values, which actions are right and wrong, and which characteristics of moral agents are virtuous. Research into descriptive ethics may also investigate people's ethical ideals or what actions societies reward or punish in law or politics. What ought to be noted is that culture is generational and not static. Therefore, a new generation will come with its own set of morals and that qualifies to be their ethics. Descriptive ethics will hence try to oversee whether ethics still holds its place.
Because descriptive ethics involves empirical investigation, it is a field that is usually investigated by those working in the fields of evolutionary biology, psychology, sociology or anthropology. Information that comes from descriptive ethics is, however, also used in philosophical arguments.[2][3]
Value theory can be either normative or descriptive but is usually descriptive.
Lawrence Kohlberg: An example of descriptive ethicsedit
Lawrence Kohlberg is one example of a psychologist working on descriptive ethics. In one study, for example, Kohlberg questioned a group of boys about what would be a right or wrong action for a man facing a moral dilemma (specifically, the Heinz dilemma): should he steal a drug to save his wife, or refrain from theft even though that would lead to his wife's death?[4] Kohlberg's concern was not which choice the boys made, but the moral reasoning that lay behind their decisions. After carrying out a number of related studies, Kohlberg devised a theory about the development of human moral reasoning that was intended to reflect the moral reasoning actually carried out by the participants in his research. Kohlberg's research can be classed as descriptive ethics to the extent that he describes human beings' actual moral development. If, in contrast, he had aimed to describe how humans ought to develop morally, his theory would have involved prescriptive ethics.
^Sinnott-Armstrong, Walter; Wheatley, Thalia; Sugden, Sherwood J. B. (2012). "The Disunity of Morality and Why it Matters to Philosophy". Monist. 95 (3): 355–377. doi:10.5840/monist201295319.
^Kohlberg, Lawrence, (1971). "Stages in Moral Development as a Basis for Moral Education." In C.M. Beck, B.S. Crittenden, and E.V. Sullivan, Eds. Moral Education: Interdisciplinary Approaches. Toronto: Toronto University Press.
Further readingedit
Hämäläinen, Nora (2016). Descriptive Ethics: What does Moral Philosophy Know about Morality?. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1057/978-1-137-58617-9. ISBN978-1-137-58617-9.
Coleman, Stephen Edwin, "DIGITAL PHOTO MANIPULATION: A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF CODES OF ETHICS AND ETHICAL DECISIONS OF PHOTO EDITORS" (2007). Dissertations. 1304. https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1304
December 15, 2023
descriptive, ethics, also, known, comparative, ethics, study, people, beliefs, about, morality, contrasts, with, prescriptive, normative, ethics, which, study, ethical, theories, that, prescribe, people, ought, with, meta, ethics, which, study, what, ethical, . Descriptive ethics also known as comparative ethics is the study of people s beliefs about morality 1 It contrasts with prescriptive or normative ethics which is the study of ethical theories that prescribe how people ought to act and with meta ethics which is the study of what ethical terms and theories actually refer to The following examples of questions that might be considered in each field illustrate the differences between the fields Descriptive ethics What do people think is right Meta ethics What does right even mean Normative prescriptive ethics How should people act Applied ethics How do we take moral knowledge and put it into practice Contents 1 Description 2 Lawrence Kohlberg An example of descriptive ethics 3 See also 4 References 5 Further readingDescription editDescriptive ethics is a form of empirical research into the attitudes of individuals or groups of people In other words this is the division of philosophical or general ethics that involves the observation of the moral decision making process with the goal of describing the phenomenon Those working on descriptive ethics aim to uncover people s beliefs about such things as values which actions are right and wrong and which characteristics of moral agents are virtuous Research into descriptive ethics may also investigate people s ethical ideals or what actions societies reward or punish in law or politics What ought to be noted is that culture is generational and not static Therefore a new generation will come with its own set of morals and that qualifies to be their ethics Descriptive ethics will hence try to oversee whether ethics still holds its place Because descriptive ethics involves empirical investigation it is a field that is usually investigated by those working in the fields of evolutionary biology psychology sociology or anthropology Information that comes from descriptive ethics is however also used in philosophical arguments 2 3 Value theory can be either normative or descriptive but is usually descriptive Lawrence Kohlberg An example of descriptive ethics editLawrence Kohlberg is one example of a psychologist working on descriptive ethics In one study for example Kohlberg questioned a group of boys about what would be a right or wrong action for a man facing a moral dilemma specifically the Heinz dilemma should he steal a drug to save his wife or refrain from theft even though that would lead to his wife s death 4 Kohlberg s concern was not which choice the boys made but the moral reasoning that lay behind their decisions After carrying out a number of related studies Kohlberg devised a theory about the development of human moral reasoning that was intended to reflect the moral reasoning actually carried out by the participants in his research Kohlberg s research can be classed as descriptive ethics to the extent that he describes human beings actual moral development If in contrast he had aimed to describe how humans ought to develop morally his theory would have involved prescriptive ethics See also editExperimental philosophy List of ethics topics Moral reasoning Moral psychologyReferences edit comparative ethics philosophy Britannica www britannica com Retrieved 2022 01 19 Greene Joshua D July 2014 Beyond Point and Shoot Morality Why Cognitive Neuro Science Matters for Ethics Ethics 124 4 695 726 doi 10 1086 675875 S2CID 9063016 Sinnott Armstrong Walter Wheatley Thalia Sugden Sherwood J B 2012 The Disunity of Morality and Why it Matters to Philosophy Monist 95 3 355 377 doi 10 5840 monist201295319 Kohlberg Lawrence 1971 Stages in Moral Development as a Basis for Moral Education In C M Beck B S Crittenden and E V Sullivan Eds Moral Education Interdisciplinary Approaches Toronto Toronto University Press Further reading editHamalainen Nora 2016 Descriptive Ethics What does Moral Philosophy Know about Morality New York Palgrave Macmillan doi 10 1057 978 1 137 58617 9 ISBN 978 1 137 58617 9 Coleman Stephen Edwin DIGITAL PHOTO MANIPULATION A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF CODES OF ETHICS AND ETHICAL DECISIONS OF PHOTO EDITORS 2007 Dissertations 1304 https aquila usm edu dissertations 1304 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Descriptive ethics amp oldid 1188305525, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
