Ethics and Morality Passages

Common Topics

Ethics passages cover medical ethics (autonomy, beneficence, justice), environmental ethics, technology and privacy, social justice, and cultural relativism versus universal morality.

The Frameworks

Know the major frameworks well enough to recognize them unnamed: utilitarianism (greatest good for the greatest number -- Mill, Bentham), deontology (duty-based; some acts are inherently right or wrong -- Kant), virtue ethics (character -- Aristotle), rights-based ethics (Locke), and social contract theory (Hobbes, Rousseau). A triage argument about maximizing expected life-years is utilitarian; an objection that a person "is not merely a vessel of well-being to be totted up" is deontological.

Attack Strategy

Identify which framework the author uses or critiques, and note whether appeals run to consequences, principles, or character. Ethics passages typically contain a "but": the author concedes one side before arguing the other, so do not mistake the concession for the thesis. Most importantly, never import your own moral views -- answer strictly from the passage's reasoning.

Key Takeaways

• Map arguments to frameworks: consequences = utilitarian, duties = deontology, character = virtue
• The concession usually precedes the real thesis
• Track whether the author critiques or endorses a framework
• Your own ethics are out of scope -- the passage decides