<philosophical terminology> branch of philosophical ethics
concerned with developing theories that determine which human
actions are right and which are wrong. It is useful to
distinguish normative theories according to the way in which
they derive moral value from duties or rights: deontological
theories hold that actions are intrinsically right or wrong,
while consequentialist theories evaluate actions by reference to
their extrinsic outcomes. Virtue ethics theories locate the
highest moral value in the development of persons. Recommended
Reading: William K. Frankena, Ethics (Prentice Hall, 1973);
Stephen Darwall, Philosophical Ethics (Westview, 1998); The
Blackwell Guide to Ethical Theory, ed. by Hugh Lafollette
(Blackwell, 2000); and Normative Ethics, ed. by Shelly Kagan,
Keith Lehrer, and Norman Daniels (Westview, 1997). [A Dictionary
of Philosophical Terms and Names] Try this search on OneLook /
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