Ethical and Legal Terms Students Need to Know

Some but not all of the following terms will be used throughout this course. EXPECT to answer correctly questions in class-discussions, essays and quizzes that presume you understand the relevant meanings of these terms.

YOUR TASK: Research and learn their meanings for yourself, I will not be defining all of them formally in class, but I shall presume you are familiar with all of them by the final exam.

HINTS: Use the library, the Internet, an encyclopedia or a legal dictionary to get yourself started. Avoid idiosyncratic sources. Realize that legal references are useful and authoritative because they are conventional but as sources they are rarely sufficient for ethical analysis.

WARNING: This list is NOT comprehensive and I will be adding to it, so you should expect to learn more than the meanings of these terms for this course.

action
act-utilitarianism
affirmative action
alienation
antitrust

bourgeoisie
brand loyalty
bribe
business ethics
but-for cause

capitalist justice
categorical imperative
caveat emptor
caveat vendor
command economy
communitarianism
comparable pay
compensatory justice
conflict of interest
consistency requirement
contract
copyright
cost-benefit analysis
crime
criminal negligence

defamation
disclaimer
discriminatory practice
distributive justice
due care
due diligence
due process
duty
duty not to coerce
duty not to misrepresent
duty of disclosure
duty to comply

economy
egalitarian justice
equilibrium price
ethical relativism
evidentiary fact
excusable homicide
external cost
extortion

fact
fair use
fair wage
false statement
false swearing
felony
fiduciary
fraud
free market system

harm
homicide by misadventure
hostile environment harassment

ideology
insider trading
institutionalized discrimination
intellectual property
intention
intentional discrimination
invidious contempt
involuntary manslaughter
isolated discrimination

job discrimination
job satisfaction
just cause
justifiable homicide

law of agency
libel
libertarianism

malfeasance
manipulation of supply
manslaughter
material fact
misdemeanor
misfeasance
misrepresentation
mixed economy
monopoly competition
moral responsibility

natural rights
naturalistic fallacy
negligent homicide
nonfeasance
nonintential discrimination

oligopolistic competition

patent
perfect competition
perjury
pollution
potential conflict of interest
price discrimination
price fixing
price leadership
price setting
private cost
private property system
procedural due process
proletariat

quid pro quo harasssment

reasonable risk
reckless homicide
regulation
resource depletion
retributive justice
reverse discrimination
right to privacy
rule-utilitarianism

slander
sexual harassment
social cost
social contract
social good
socialist justice
state of nature
stewardship
substantive justice
supply curve
surplus value

tax
toxic substance
trade secret

vice
virtue

whistleblowing

 

 

Last Update: Wednesday, 11 July, 2007 10:18

go back to syllabus