Ethical Language (Meta Ethics) Flashcards
What is the keyword? - A statement that is subject to being true or false.
Cognitive
What a normative ethic?
A theory that tells you how you ought to behave.
What is cognitive language?
Moral values that can be derived from sense experience.
What is non-cognitive language?
A theory that Ethical statements cannot be derived from sense experience. It isn’t describing the world, but expressing their feelings or telling someone what to do.
Who developed the Verification Principle?
A.J Ayer
What is an analytic statement?
A statement that is true by definition
What is a synthetic statement?
A statement that can be proven true or false by empirical evidence.
Give an example of a meaningless statement?
‘God is good’
An example of cognitive language concerning abortion
Abortion is wrong. Abortion has the property of wrongness. This statement is objectively true or false.
An example of non-cognitive language concerning abortion
Abortion is wrong, ‘I don’t like abortion’
Do not commit abortion.
Give an example of an analytic statement
‘A square has 4 corners’
Give an example of a synthetic statement
‘The wall is green’
What is logical positivism?
It is an applied scientific approach towards philosophy and ethics.
What is emotivism otherwise known as?
The Boo Hurrah theory
What does C.L Stevenson believe?
He believes that moral statements do express opinions but not in order to vent emotion.
What is simple subjectivism?
Emotivism can lead to the idea that “ where morality is concerned, there are no ‘facts’ and no one is ‘right’ “
What meta-ethical theory did G.E Moore develop?
Intuitionism
What is morality?
The examination of what we mean when we say that a thing or an action is good, bad, moral or immoral.
What is ‘the naturalistic fallacy’?
The naturalistic fallacy is an attempt to derive a moral “ought” from an empirical “is.
Give an example of ‘The naturalistic fallacy’
Poverty has always been with us, therefore we shouldn’t do anything to help the poor.
What are ethical claims according to Ayer?
Meaningless - Because they can’t be empirically verified.
What did Bertrand Russell contribute to emotivism?
Bertrand Russell claimed that moral judgements express a wish.
What did Rudolph Carnap contribute to emotivism?
Rudolph Carnap considered ethical claims to be commands.
What is ‘good’ according to G.E Moore? (Quote)
‘Good is good and that is they end of the matter’
What did G.E Moore compare ‘good’ to when trying to express how he saw the meaning of the word ‘good’?
The colour yellow
What is G.E Moore’s yellow example?
Good = Good, it is indefinable like the colour yellow, we know what yellow is but we are unable to define it.
Who came up with Prima Facie Duties?
W.D Ross
What does ‘prima facie’ mean?
at first appearance. This implies that they are intuitive.
What are the 7 Prima Facie Duties?
keeping promises, gratitude, fairness, benevolence, non-malificence, self-improvement, reparation for harm
Who criticised G.E Moore’s ‘yellow’ analogy?
Nietzsche
What did Nietzsche argue when criticising G.E Moore’s ‘yellow’ analogy?
He argued that one person may see good as one thing whereas one may see good as another, suggesting the issue of - “ethical colourblindness”
Who proposed Prescriptivism?
R.M Hare
Is Prescriptivism cognitive or non-cognitive?
Non-cognitive
Is Emotivism cognitive or non-cognitive?
Non-cognitive
Is Intuitionism cognitive or non-cognitive?
Cognitive
What did Peter Vardy accuse emotivism of being?
“hot air and nothing else”
What did R.M Hare argue?
Hare argued that when we use ethical language, we are prescribing - or recommending - a course of action. ‘Good’, Hare argued, is an action statement.
