Many controversial issues are discussed in moral philosophy or ethics. Biomedical ethics deals with issues that might come up in health care. Many health care professionals face life-and-death situations. Issues related to prenatal care and genetic manipulation of a fetus are discussed in moral philosophy. Rights of mentally disabled people and the euthanasia are examined as well.
Business ethics deal with the moral status of corporate entities and can concern such matters as drug testing polices. Social issues also abound. The rights of animals was highlighted by the philosopher Peter Singer. Today, issues related to preserving endangered species and our obligation to future generations are part of moral philosophy.
Modern moral philosophy is divided into three different branches: applied ethics, normative ethics and meta-ethics. Applied ethics deals with people's daily moral decisions. There are many specialized fields within this branch of philosophy, such as bioethics. Often controversial issues are examined, such as abortion, nuclear war and animal rights.
How people make their decisions is considered under normative ethics. General normative principles, such as the right to life, are discussed in this branch. The third branch, meta-ethics, deals with ideas related to where moral principles come from and what our moral principles mean. Meta-ethical philosophy deals with problems with universal truths and the meaning of ethical terms. Questions related to the will of God are also considered.
There are three different approaches to moral philosophy. From a consequentialist's view, a right action leads to a good outcome. This theory can be summarized with the aphorism "The ends justify the means." Utilitarians think that an action is morally right if the consequences are advantageous. By looking at the consequences of each action we perform, we can decide whether an action is morally right or wrong.
Deontological ethics are based on the idea that it is not the outcome of our actions that is important but our intentions behind them. Even if the outcome is bad, we might have done a moral action. Our intention might have been moral, but the outcome of our actions was not good.
Do we act in a moral way because it makes us feel good? Are we afraid to break rules? Today, the psychological basis for our judgments are examined within moral philosophy. Another area examines differences between men and women. The nurturing aspects of women are used as a basis to explore differences.
Moral development and moral characters are examined under moral psychology. The goal with an evolutionary approach is to understand why people have certain ethical preferences. Moral problems are studied in terms of evolutionary psychology and biology.