Critical thinking

Question 1

Explain the 2 types of ethics. Give an example

Answer 1

1. Descriptive = not judging the rightness or wrongness of actions just describing them in detail to understand the context. ex: how do students feel about the cheating on exams that use proctortrack?
2. prescriptive = takes positions on the rightness or wrongness of behaviours to fix a problem or make things better Ex; students should not cheat on exams and the use of proctortrack is not a reason to cheat

Question 2

why is morality different from prescriptive ethics?

Answer 2

morality is the view of right and wrong shared by a group of people at a certain time and place –> cultures have different views of morality

prescriptive ethics: judges a behaviour as good or bad, more objective approach

Question 3

1. what is the ethical equation?
2. what is meta ethics?

Answer 3

1. foundational concepts (meta-ethics) + facts/evidence + a theory = ethical prescription
2. meta ethics = talking about ethics in the sense of not making judgements just discussing foundational ethical beliefs and values

Question 4

1. What is realism?
2. What is anti-realism?

Answer 4

1. realism = universal ethical truth (facts) exist outside of the mind. Some sort of external truth that ethics needs to address that is true.
2. Antirealism = denies that universal ethical truth exists. There is not truth and people can claim things but it is all socially constructed

Question 5

1. facts can be called __________
   values can be called __________
2. What is the difference between fact and value?

Answer 5

1. description, normativity
2. fact = what is or isn’t factually the case by using evidence. ex: the earth is not flat
   value = what should or shouldn’t be done and why. Not a fact but just moral values of why something might be wrong. ex: we should not steal about is it wrong

Question 6

1. T/F: you cannot disprove value. Why or why not?
2. what are the 2 types of value?

Answer 6

1. T. because it is a statement of preference and someone’s personal opinion.
2. aesthetic = this is my favourite sense
   moral = your values you place on certain qualities. Ex: i value honesty

Question 7

_________ are disagreements that exists between people who have the same ethical orientation but disagree on method

Answer 7

tensions

Question 8

critical thinking is the vital balance between ____________ and ___________

Answer 8

skepticism and openness

Question 9

1. what is the baloney detection kit?
2. the baloney detection kit contains healthy _________ that can be applied to everyday life
   3.T/F: a good baloney kit teaches us what NOT to do?

Answer 9

1. a set of cognitive tools that fortify the mind against penetration of falsehoods
2. skepticism
3. T

Question 10

Explain each tool/ fill in the blanks:
1. whenever possible there must be __________ ___________ of the facts
2. encourage substantiative ________ on the evidence by knowledge of all points of view
3. arguments from _________ carry little weight. What does this mean?
4. have more than one _________
5. try not to get attached to one hypothesis just because it is yours. Why is this important?
6. you should be able to ______ your position so it is not vague
7. if there is a chain of argument, every link in the chain must work. Why is this important
8. Occam’s razor. What does this mean?
9. can your hypothesis be ______?

Answer 10

1. independent confirmation
2. debate
3. authorities. Meaning sometimes authorities can be wrong
4. hypothesis
5. because it forces us to look at more opinions
6. quantify
7. so that all the premises all add up
8. means that if you have 2 hypothesis, you should choose the simpler one
9. falsified

Question 11

What are the 2 components of fallacies?

Answer 11

1. irrelevant information posing as relevant (a distraction)
2. quality of the evidence where the interpretation is flawed

Question 12

1. What is confirmation bias?
2. Confirmation bias is not a logical fallacy but a ________ bias

Answer 12

1. looking for confirmation of existing beliefs and not looking for a more objectively supported answer
2. cognitive bias

Question 13

what is genetic fallacy?

Answer 13

dismissing arguments because of their source not because of the quality of argument itself. ex: not accepting an argument because someone you do not agree with said it

Question 14

1. what is ad hominem?
2. give an example

Answer 14

1. responding to an argument using criticisms of a person/group
2. someone makes an argument and you respond with a personal attack to them

Question 15

what is bifurcation? What is the problem with this?

Answer 15

suggesting that complex situations must always have 2 positions. Issue is that ethics has more nuance than 2 sides

Question 16

what is appeal to authority?

Answer 16

someone says something is true because they are an authority figure or respected, but there is no evidence that they are actually true

Question 17

1. what is questionable cause?
2. explain each of these 3 subtypes of questionable cause:
   a) post hoc
   b) mere correlation
   c) oversimplified cause

Answer 17

1. don’t give sufficient evidence for a claim that one thing is the cause of another
2. a) post hoc = when an arguer assumes that because one event came after the other, that the first event was the CAUSE of the other
   b) mere correlation = when an arguer assumes that a single condition/event is the ONLY cause of the effect when there are other contributing causes
   c) oversimplified cause = arguer gives many reasons as to why something caused something

Question 18

How is ethics different from law? Give an example

Answer 18

ethics and law both have to deal with right and wrong. But something can be illegal but be unethical. Ex: rosa parks being legally not allowed to sit at the front, but this law was unethical

Question 19

1. what is ethical objectivism?
2. moral statements are true or false depending if they correspond to those moral facts. This is called __________ theory

Answer 19

1. ethical objectivism = things are morally right or wrong depending on moral facts involved. Objective ethics involves facts that are not influenced by personal opinion
2. correspondence theory

Question 20

Explain the 3 tenets of objectivism

Answer 20

1. cognitivist = there is an ethical reality we can know and speak about meaningfully. Ex: do your dishes because those are your dishes
2. rationalist = ethical disputes can be rationally resolved by logic and reasoning
3. absolutist = there is an objective right and wrong answer for every ethical question

Question 21

what is the difference between ethical naturalism vs non-naturalism? Give examples

Answer 21

naturalism = moral facts are observable measurable features of the natural world
non-naturalism = there are moral facts but they are not observable features and require specialized institutions

ex: morally good is what makes us happy = naturalism
morally good is what God commands = non-naturalism

Question 22

1. what is ethical relativism and the 3 scopes?
2. what would relativists say about beliefs that occurred in the past

Answer 22

1. ethical statements are only relevant when we understand context in a subjective point of view. this means that ethical statements are true or false relative to a particular person, culture, or historical/situational context
2. that these beliefs may not matter now because it depends on the new context or person you are dealing with that may not agree with historical context

Question 23

what is ethical non-cognitivism?

Answer 23

explains how ethical statements do not assert anything objectively true or false they just assert your opinion on the issue; so not dealing with real facts

Question 24

what are the 3 meta-ethical approaches?

Answer 24

1. ethical objectivism
2. ethical relativism
3. ethical non-cognitivism

Question 25

1. ethical theory brings __________ to ____________
2. what are the 4 components of moral guidance?
3. what are 3 requirements for ethical theory?

Answer 25

1. perspective to experience
2. • clear, rational, systematic, defensible
3. 1) epistemological = based on evidence
   2) logical = consistent
   3) practical = must have an effect on your life

Question 26

1. what is the diff between ethical and psychological egoism?
2. what did Ayn Rand say about ethical egoism?

Answer 26

1. ethical egoism = prescriptive and based on personal judgements. Says people OUGHT to / should act in a way that promotes their self interest
   psychological egoism = descriptive and not making judgements. Says people WILL act in a way that promotes their self interest
2. said that we should do what is good for us because this is the moral thing to do