Morality

High school (ages 12+)
Philosophy & Big Questions

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/morality

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scope of study?Encompasses descriptive, normative, and meta-ethical inquiries into human conduct
2. What is the functional significance?Underpins social order, facilitates cooperation, and informs personal identity and character development
3. Why do we need rules for right and wrong?Having rules for right and wrong helps people work together, trust each other, and keep society peaceful. Without them, it would be hard to know how to treat others.
4. How did people learn about good and bad in the past?Long ago, people wrote stories, laws, and religious books that told people how to live together. Later, philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle wrote about virtues and justice.

Normative Ethics: The branch of ethics concerned with establishing moral standards and principles for conduct.
Deontology: An ethical theory that judges the morality of an action based on rules or duties.
Utilitarianism: An ethical theory that holds the best action is the one that maximizes utility or happiness.
Virtue Ethics: An ethical theory that focuses on the character of the moral agent rather than specific actions or duties.