CL stevenson

Question 1

Does Cl Stevenson agree or disagree with Ayer

Answer 1

C.L. Stevenson generally agreed with A.J. Ayer’s theory of emotivism, but he believed that moral statements also have a prescriptive element:

Question 2

what does Stevenson say about morality?

Answer 2

all moral statements include words and phrases that hold cognitive and emotive meaning
- cognitive= factual
- emotive= appealing to emotions

Question 3

what is an example of Stevensons view point on morality?

Answer 3

the sentence “you stole that money” has a descriptive meaning
- it offers a factual statement about a situation
- it can also be expressed using an emotive meaning to express disapproval.
many moral terms eg “honesty” “respect” “stealing” have both descriptive and honest meanings

Question 4

what is the overall meaning of Stevensons statement?

Answer 4

Stevenson analyses emotive meaning by connecting meaning to use. when we debate morality we deliberately use words with emotive meaning eg. using the word “masacre” instead of “many deaths” is going to influence people more

Question 5

what are some advantages of Stevensons argument?

Answer 5

1) accepts the role of reason- unlike Ayer, says reason is used to shift a persons viewpoint/argument
2) like ayer promotes a tolerant attitude toward society, promotes moral diversity as not one opinion can be objectively right or wrong