Ayer Flashcards
what does emotivism initially assert
moral statements express the feeling or attitude of approval or disapproval - eg. “murder is wrong”- boo/hurrah theory
who suggested the boo hurrah theory
Ayer
what is Ayers boo hurrah theory
when we make moral reflections/judgements eg. saying X is good/bad we are actually displaying nothing more than emotional outburst. Ayer likened saying murder is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ is like saying Boo to killing people and hurrah to letting people live.
what does Ayers boo hurray theory establish
ultimately asserts that morality is in no way definitive or absolute. in the same way an individuals emotions can be easily influenced and swayed- morality falls victim to the same concept. in fact ayer does not even make distinction between morality and emotional at all. they are one human instinct disguised as two.
what is a support of ayers BOO HURRAH theory (1)
- DOES fit in with ideas of human psychology - when people engage in oral debates, it does seem to mirror if not be exactly like human conflict
- ## Perhaps Ayer is correct that there is no objective basis for morality – that it is just an expression of our feelings. We may not like that, but that doesn’t make him wrong.
what are some criticisms of Ayers theory (2)
1) Ayers theory provides NO BASIS for human morality, essentially there is no right or wrong
- when nothing is regarded as objectively morally wrong, obvious cases of immorality cannot be held to any accountability
- eg. Hitler –> crime against humanity, according to ayer this would simply be an expression of human opinion
- immorality/cruelness of this level is far too extreme to simply be associated with emotion
2) Ayer doesn’t acknowledge the significance and importance of moral statements. according to ayer saying “murder is wrong” is the same as saying “pineapple on pizza is wrong”. there is obviously a vast difference in the scale of these statements but by ayers view point they are both merely emotional statements
