1.4 Non-cognitivism: Emotivism Flashcards
1
Q
What is ‘emotivism’? (add more from further slide)
A
- ethical language ‘expresses feelings, not objectively true or false facts’
- alternatively, it is known as the ‘Hurrah-Boo’ theory (literal meaning)
2
Q
How does emotivism link to individualism (with examples)?
A
- to say ‘Murder is wrong’ is dissimilar to stating a fact, ‘Water boils at 100C’
- in this way, you are expressing your feelings, it’s like saying ‘Boo to murder’
- claiming ‘Helping others is good’ is alike to saying ‘Hurrah to kindness!’
- in summary, moral statements don’t tell us about the world, they show our emotions and attitudes.
3
Q
Compare emotivism to cognitive methods of argument
A
4
Q
Analyse an emotivist perspective. For instance, ‘Abortion is wrong’
A
5
Q
Who are Logical Positivists, & how do they approach metaphysics?
A
the Logical Positivists entirely refrain from using metaphysical language, deeming it to be beyond empirical verification & thereby meaningless
6
Q
In what respect could you consider emotivism to be ‘extreme’?
A
if we are to make a claim, ‘Abortion is wrong’, this is not to make a value (normative) judgement based on an objective point of reference, but rather simply saying ‘I don’t like abortion’
