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RE: Ethics > 7. Meta Ethics > Flashcards

7. Meta Ethics Flashcards

1
Q

Naturalism

Cognitivism definition

A

Ethical sentences express propositions and can therefore be true or false.

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2
Q

Naturalism

Non-cognitivism defintion

A

Ethical sentences do not express propositions and thus cannot be true or false.

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3
Q

Naturalism

Naturalism definition

A

Moral terms can be understood by analysis of the natural world.

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4
Q

Naturalism

Cognativist or non-cognativist?

A

Cognativist

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5
Q

Naturalism

F.H Bradley dates

A

1846-1924

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6
Q

Naturalism

F.H Bradley key quote

A

“Starting from and on the basis of animal nature, humanity has worked it out by gradual advances of specification and systemisation.”

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7
Q

Naturalism

F.H. Bradley - Social Naturalism

A
  • People socialise their children according to how evolved society is (inheritence).
  • One distinctive thing that society passes on, gives each person “station and its duties”
  • Such morality is relaive as its derived from a specific place and time = progressive.
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8
Q

Naturalism

F.H. Bradley key ideas

A
  • Objective features of the world makes propositions true or false.
  • Verified moral statements are objective and universal.
  • Moral language rests on propositions.
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9
Q

Naturalism

David Hume, who + dates

A

Scottish philosopher, 1711-76

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10
Q

Naturalism

David Hume - Matters of fact

A

Synthetic truths, contingently true, can only be known through a posterori, without certaintly.
* we are born in total ignorance.
* “Tabula rase” = no understanding
* “nothing is in the interlect that was not first in the senses.”

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11
Q

Naturalism

David Hume - Relation of ideas

A

Analytic truths, necessarily true, apriori (deductively) with certainty.
e.g. 2+2=4, don’t need experiments with objects to prove it

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12
Q

Naturalism

Strength - Philipa Foot

A

Moral evil is natural defect “The fact an action or disposition is good of a kind.”

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13
Q

Naturalism

Others strengths

A
  • Explains social character of morality but still allows for indivudual self-realisation.
  • Moral person has qualities as to why they carry out certain actions - can be observed.
  • Moral judgements say something about the action of any individual - main reason to do or not, whether or not he recorgnised that.
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14
Q

Naturalism

Criticism - Humes fork/is-ought gap

A
  • That which ‘is’ is not the same as that which ‘ought’ to be.
  • One’s societally-defined duty and what is morally ‘good’ are not automatically the same thing.
  • e.g. because human nature finds pleasure good, doesnt mean good = pleasure.
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15
Q

Naturalism

Criticism - GE Moore

A

Naturalistic fallacy
* Its an error to assume that something natural means that its good.
* Doesn’t mean pleasures good.

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16
Q

Naturalism

Criticism - others

A
  • Works in a society with fixed narrow societal expectations + etiquette recommends passive acceptance of status quo.
  • Morally corrupt societies - how can an individual become ethical and reduce themselves in one.
  • doesn’t offer a moral transformation.
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17
Q

Intuitionism

Cognativist or non-cognativist

A

Cognativist

18
Q

Intuitionism

A.J. Pritchard dates

A

1871-1947

19
Q

Intuitionism

A.J. Pritchard key ideas

A
  • claims ‘ought’ cannot be defined in a moral sense but we recorgnise its properties.
  • everyone recorgnises when we ought to do a certain obligation.
  • if conflicted in moral obligations - says to look at situation as decide which is greater.
  • recorgnises problem that people have diferent morals = some have more developed moral thinking ~ doesn’t explain why.
20
Q

Intuitionism

A.J. Pritchard - 2 types of thinking

A
  • reason = looks at facts of situation.
  • intuition = decides what to do.
    e.g. euthanasia
21
Q

Intuitionism

G.E. Moore dates

A

1873-1958

22
Q

Intuitionism

G.E. Moore - key ideas

A
  • Criticised naturalism, instead we have infallible intuitive knowledge of good (don’t need to observe murder to know its wrong)
  • argues moral judgements cannot be proved empirically, can’t observe pleasure and conclude = good.
23
Q

Intuitionism

W.D. Ross - dates and key ideas

A

1877-1971
* accepted Moore and added that in any situation, moral duties or obligations become apparent = “prima facie duties” e.g. gratitude, justice, promises.
* have a moral obligation to keep them.

24
Q

Intuitionism

G.E. Moore - open question arguement

A

if you define good = pleasure, this is wrong as not all pleasure is good.
Therefore if good = pleasure - its been reduced
e.g. pleasure from poisening the water system, utilitarianism = wrong.

25
Q

Intuitionism

G.E. Moore - Simple vs Complex

A

e.g. yellow cannot be broken down more, whereas horse = its characteristics.
∴ good = simple as its undefinable and unanalysable concept, cannot be brokwn down any further.

26
Q

Intuitionism

Strengths

A
  • Self interested duties, if identified can be excluded as non-moral.
  • moreal facts can exist objectively, you can be wrong about morality in the same way you can be wrong about maths - both are objective not queer - not in empirically verifiable way.
  • True intuition always exists, go with strongest one, face to face with situation, out thinking may have become ‘infected’
27
Q

Intuitionism

Criticisms/Weaknesses - J.L. Mackie

A
  1. metaphysical = how could such moral qualities exist, too objective.
  2. epistemology = what special ability would we have to have to detect moraility, brain sensor?
  3. motivational = even if we could detect good, why would it motivate us to do anything, if it does - only because somethings been added.
28
Q

Intuitionism

Weaknesses - others

A
  • Without any standards of moral duties, only intuitions, people would still be very confused about what was right to do - differ widely to develop correct ones.
  • No way to resolve moral conflicts, Moore says intuitions are basis and should not be doubted, but how do we know who has right intuitions.
29
Q

Emotivism

Cognitivist or non-cognitivist

A

Non

30
Q

Emotivism

Emotivism

A

Claims when we use ethical language, we are just expressing our emotions

31
Q

Emotivism

Logical positivism

A

applying science to question of meaning, only valid meaningful language is that which is empirically verifiable.

32
Q

Emotivism

Verification principle

A
  • from logical positivism
  • = statement only meaningful if its analytic or empirically verifiable.
33
Q

Emotivism

A.J. Ayer dates

A

1910-1989

34
Q

Emotivism

A.J. Ayer - boo/hurrah theory

A

= expression of opinion.
muder is wrong = “boo”

35
Q

Emotivism

A.J. Ayer - key ideas

A
  • Influenced by Hume
  • emotional outburts cannot be true or false as they are not claims about reality.
  • so ethical language cannot be analytic or synthetic = meaningless.
36
Q

Emotivism

C.L. Stevenson - key ideas

A
  • added to Ayer
  • language - 2 principle uses = descriptive and dynamic.
  • when we make moral statements, we aren’t only expressing emotional response but also trying to pursuade others to have the same response.
37
Q

Emotivism

Strengths

A
  • using emotional language is effective in changing attitudes of others.
  • still have worth even if not verifiable.
  • people make decisions based on emotions anyway, describes workings of the world accurately.
38
Q

Emotivism

Weakness - R.M. Hare

A
  • We are too complex to reduce morality to this - against reductionism.
  • too simplistic.
  • morality involves use of reason, cannot accept terrible acts.
  • e.g. holocaust reduced to “i believe killing is wrong”
39
Q

Emotivism

Weakness - James Rachels

A

Removal of reason
* Wrong of Ayer to make connection between ‘ouch’ response when stubbing a toe and ‘thats wrong’ response when you see details of muder on the news.
* if they lack reason, they become arbitrary.

40
Q

Emotivism

Weakness - Peter Vardy

A

its a moral ‘non-theory’ because its not an ethical theory in the classical sense.

41
Q

Emotivism

Weakness - MacIntyre

A
  • Misconcieved theory of ethics, doctrine obscured modern life which is characteristed by social emotivism in which alll judgements are expressions of opinion.
  • Stops us from seeing importance of human qualities, causes others “are always means, never ends” in themselves.
42
Q

Emotivism

Weaknesses - others

A
  • Morality is meaningless = 9/11
  • If all morality is emotions, who’s should we follow.
  • Undermines all ethical theories that say right and wrong are derived from reason/logic.

RE: Ethics (9 decks)

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