1.7 Meta-ethics Flashcards
what are the layers of ethics?
- meta-ethics: the study of ethical concepts, what is good and does it even exist
- normative ethics: considers ethical theories that tell us how we ought to behave
- applied ethics: discusses specific problems in ethics
- descriptive ethics: explores different ethical views that vary across cultures e.g. what do people think is right
what is the linguistic meaning of meta-ethics?
from the Greek ‘meta’ meaning above and beyond
what is ethical naturalism
the idea that moral values can be correctly defined by observation of the natural world
it is a cognitivist, moral realist theory that says moral values can be known empirically
what is moral realism?
the belief that right and wrong actually exist
what is a cognitivist ethical theory
the belief that moral statements are subject to being either true or false
what is Aquinas’ understanding of ethical naturalism?
- theological naturalism
- moral values can be worked out by understanding our God-given purpose and observing the natural order
what is F.H. Bradley’s understanding of ethical naturalism?
- it is possible to understand our moral duties by observing our position in life
- roles such as mother, teacher or nurse reflect duties and moral values
- his view is outdated and reflects Victorian class divisions
what is Bentham and Mill’s understanding of ethical naturalism?
- utilitarian ethical naturalism
- we can discover right and wrong by discovering what actions lead to pleasure and pain
what is the link between naturalism and absolutism?
- they link but are not the same thing
- some forms of naturalism such as Aquinas’ theological naturalism may be absolutist but naturalism itself is not necessarily absolutist
what is intuitionism
- the idea that moral truths are indefinable and self evident
- they cannot be discovered by observing the world
- also a moral realist cognitivist theory
- ethical terms are meaningful
what is Moore’s interpretation of intuitionism?
- he identified the naturalistic fallacy as the key error of naturalism, nothing except good is intrinsically good
- e.g. can you say/prove that pleasure really is good?
- good is self evident through our intuition
- he used the ananlogy with the colour yellow, we just know what yellow is in the same way we just know what goodness is
- he makes a distinction between simple and complex ideas, complex ideas are ones that can be broken down like a horse into its different parts but goodness just is
what is emotivism?
- the idea that moral statements are not statements of fact but are indicators of emotional states
- it is a moral anti-realist, non-cognitivist theory
- ethical statements are meaningless
what is the background to emotivism?
the vienna circle and Hume:
- Hume argued that moral judgements were just feelings or sentiments rather than factual judgements
- also the work of the logical positivists
- the verification principle posits that statements are only meaningful if they are true by definition (analytic statements) of they are synthetic statements that can be verified by the senses
- ethical statements are neither
what is Ayer’s emotivism?
- put forward his weak verification principle, statements are only meaningful if we are able to say how we could hypothetically prove them
- moral statements are neither logical nor proveable by the senses which means they are meaningless
- they are rather emotional states or feelings about an issue that merely convey an approving or disapproving tone
what did Ayer mean by the term ‘evince’
he uses it to explain how ethical terms describe an emotional state. It doesn’t mean exactly the same as an emotional state but rather reflects the fact that we might not actually feel the emotion that our words indicate.
what are the strengths and weaknesses of moral realism as a whole?
strengths
- shared moral values: there is a broad agreement on moral values
- moral progress: if there was no such thing as right and wrong then it would be impossible to talk of moral progress
- the need for a standard: if there is no objective right and wrong there can be no moral standard
weaknesses
- there may be broad agreement on moral value but differences arise quickly
- is it moral progress or humans just figuring out how best to survive
- there may be no moral standard
what are difficulties with naturalism specifically?
- some naturalists like Aquinas rely on the idea of there being a telos to the universe which is challenged by many including evolutionists and existentialists
- Hume’s ‘is-ought’ problem
- Moore’s naturalistic fallacy
what are difficulties for intuitionism specifically?
- it does overcome the is-ought problem and the naturalistic fallacy BUT people’s intuitions seem to differ
- H.A. Pritchard tried to overcome this by saying some people just have better intuition than other but that’s a bit sketchy…
critics of naturalism
JL Mackie
- wrote ‘ethics: inventing write and wrong’
- he argued against moral naturalism saying that moral properties are not reducible to natural properties
quite like Hume’s is-ought problem
who seeks to find a sort of middle ground in meta-ethics?
Simon Blackburn
non-cognitivist
- endorsed a quasi-realist view
- he endorsed an anti-realist moral view (that there are no objective moral truths, morality is not factual)
- but he then seeks to earn the right for talk on morality to use the structures of realist talk
- e.g. the underlying logical structure of the sentence ‘stealing is wrong’ is just ‘stealing: boo!’
- but it is still legitimate to say the sentence is true and even to suggest that the property of wrongness is represented by stealing
- so while moral beliefs are expressions of subjective attitudes, they can be treated as if they are true
- ‘we might think of ethics as a kind of fiction, but a kind of fiction we cannot do without’
proponents of non-cognitive theories
Charles L. Stevenson
- C20 Am ph
- “moral judgements are not statements of fact but are expressions of attitude, intended to influence action”
R.M. Hare
- C20 Br ph
- moral judgements are universal prescriptions not just expressions
proponents of naturalism
Peter Railton
contemporary American ethicist
- believes ethical truths can be discovered through science
- moral truths are what would be endorsed under ideal rational conditions
