Ethics: Meta Ethics

Question 1

Which scholar created Act Utilitarianism?

Answer 1

Jeremy Bentham

Question 2

Which scholar created Rule Utilitarianism?

Answer 2

John Stuart Mill

Question 3

What does naturalism mean in the context of ethical theories, and what is the ‘good’ in Utilitarianism?

Answer 3

• A naturalistic ethical theory believes that moral values can be defined in terms of natural properties/virtues - it is grounded in the facts of human nature.
• It sees certain qualities as intrinsically good (good in themselves) as they lead to eudaimonia
• The intrinsic good in Utilitarianism is happiness/pleasure i.e everyone instinctually seeks out happiness

Question 4

Is Utilitarianism deontological, teleological, or character-based?

Answer 4

Teleological - Assesses morality based on the outcome of an action

Question 5

What is Bentham’s Principle of Utility?

Answer 5

It is moral to bring the greatest amount of pleasure/happiness to the greatest number of people

Question 6

Complete the quote:
“Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two . . . . . . . . . masters, . . . . and . . . . . . . . …They govern us in all we . . , in all we . . . , in all we . . . . . “
Which scholar said it?

Answer 6

“Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure…They govern us in all we do, in all we say, in all we think.” - Bentham

Question 7

What is the Hedonic Calculus and what is its purpose?

Answer 7

• The Hedonic Calculus is a set of criteria used to measure the amount of happiness or evil an action brings about, and therefore determine its morality
• Came about because Bentham saw all forms of pleasure as equally measurable
• Bentham created it as a way to objectively measure what can be considered good/moral, making Utilitarianism clearer and more accessible

Question 8

How many criteria does the Hedonic Calculus have, and what are they?

Answer 8

There are seven criteria:
1. Intensity
2. Duration - How long will the pleasure last?
3. Certainty - Is the pleasure guaranteed?
4. Proximity - Is the pleasure imminent?
5. Productiveness - Will it lead to further pleasure?
6. Purity - Is the pleasure free from pain?
7. Extent - How widely does it cover?

Question 9

Give two strengths of using the Hedonic Calculus?

Answer 9

• Pleasure is a universal and natural concept - everyone can understand it
• The Hedonic Calculus provides rules that guide people on how to use the Principle of Utility correctly - adds an level of objectivity to a subjective concept
• Has ‘face validity’ - it seems obvious that the circumstances in which pleasure are derived will impact on how it effects a person(s)

Question 10

Give two weaknesses of using the Hedonic Calculus

Answer 10

• Most ethical decisions must be made in the moment, but using the Hedonic Calculus takes too long
• In an ethical scenario, emotions more often than not supersede reason. Therefore the criteria become more dependent on the whims of the individual - subjective
• Adams - Humans are prone to “moral frailty”
• Barclay - “Not all men are angels”

Question 11

What is consequentialism and how does it relate to Utilitarianism?

Answer 11

• Consequentialism bases standards of right and wrong on the consequences (or perceived consequences) of an action.
• Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory as ‘goodness’ is maximising pleasure, and this is done through an action’s effects
• Therefore, to reach a conclusion in Utilitarianism, you must assess the perceived effects of doing an action against the effects of not doing it to determine which maximises pleasure.

Question 12

Give strengths of the theory of Utilitarianism

Answer 12

• It is a naturalistic theory - it is grounded in the facts of human nature, so it should be universally understood
• Many institutions are broadly utilitarian in their approach - can see the theory’s principles in action
• Linking happiness/pleasure to morality incentivises being moral, thus making the theory more accessible and more agreeable
• The Hedonic Calculus provides guidelines and rules for behaviour - people can therefore be held accountable and judged by accordance with the rules

Question 13

Give weaknesses of the theory of Utilitarianism

Answer 13

• Utilitarianism commits a naturalistic fallacy (Hume’s is/ought problem) - just because something is pleasurable, does not mean that it has a moral value or is ‘good’. Goodness is not confined within the bounds of pleasure
• G.E. Moore believed that ‘good’ was indefinable (Intuitionism)
• Ayer (an ethical non-cognitivist) said that naturalistic statements are nothing more than subjective opinion as they non-verifiable
• Even with the Hedonic Calculus, the concept of happiness is still subjective
• Focusing on the happiness of the majority excludes the views of the minority - can lead to discrimination –> This is a particular issue if the minority is only defined as such because it is smaller than the majority e.g. the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust by the Nazis.

Question 14

Who is the main scholar associated with Intuitionism?

Answer 14

G. E. Moore

Question 15

Is Intuitionism a naturalistic or non-naturalistic theory?

Answer 15

Non-naturalistic - believes that ‘good’ cannot be broken down into smaller analysable parts

Question 16

What example can be given to describe the difference between naturalism and non-naturalism?

Answer 16

A comparison between a horse and the colour yellow.
- A horse can be comprehensibly described to someone as it is composed of various different parts that all logically fit together.
- Yellow cannot be described in the same way as it cannot be broken down into ‘parts’ - it just is. Examples of yellow things don’t describe yellow, but give us a working knowledge of what yellow is, even if we still don’t understand it.
G. E. Moore believes the concept of ‘good’ is non-naturalist, and therefore like the colour yellow.

Question 17

Complete the quote:
“. . . . is good, and that is the . . . of the . . . . . . …. ‘Good’ is simply a . . . . . . , just as ‘. . . . . .’ is simply a . . . . . . “
Which scholar said it?

Answer 17

“Good is good, and that is the end of the matter….’Good’ is simply a notion, just as ‘yellow’ is simply a notion.” - G. E. Moore

Question 18

What are three key ideas of Intuitionism?

Answer 18

• Knowledge of right and wrong come from moral intuitions (inexplicable feelings that something is or isn’t right), not from logical arguments or assessing reasons.
• Intuitions are ‘self-evident beliefs’, meaning they are not definable, or supported by any other beliefs (e.g. religious, cultural, situational etc.)
• Intuitions allow humans to understand the objective moral truths that are independent of them. For example, it ‘feels’ wrong to torture someone, even if there was a situation that called for it, such as if it would save thousands of people.

Question 19

How would a Utilitarian and an Intuitionist differ in their response to the Trolley Problem?

Answer 19

• Utilitarian: Pulling the lever to sacrifice one person and save five is the moral thing to do because it means more people are saved, maximising the resulting pleasure.
• Intuitionist: It feels wrong to pull the lever and knowingly kill an innocent person, even if five others are saved, so it is immoral to pull the lever.

Question 20

Which scholar postulated the idea of ‘prima facie duties’?

Answer 20

W. D. Ross - He explained the concept of Intuitionism rather than adding to the theory itself.

Question 21

What is a ‘prima facie duty’ and how do they link to Intuitionism? Give an example?

Answer 21

• ‘Prima facie’ means ‘on the face of it’, so a ‘prima facie duty’ is something that someone instinctively feels bound to do - they are absolute (individually).
• However, they often conflict with each other, so W.D. Ross suggests that Intuitionism is what is used to tell a person which duty takes precedence in a particular situation.
• Intuitions concerning ‘prima facie duties’ will only be moral truths if the moral agent has sufficient mental maturity to assess a situation where duties conflict.
• Example of the Inquisitive Murderer: intuition tells a person that, although telling the truth is a duty, the duty of protecting an innocent is more important in this situation, so it is permissible to lie.

Question 22

Give an example of three ‘prima facie duties’ that W. D. Ross outlined.

Answer 22

• Keeping promises
• Protecting the innocent
• Returning favours/services
• Looking after our parents
• Paying back harm we inflict on others
• Avoiding injuring others

Question 23

Give strengths of Intuitionism

Answer 23

• Everyone has moral intuitions, and most use them to underpin moral decisions - means the theory is universal and accessible.
• It will always ‘feel right’ so people are more likely to follow their intuitions than rigid rules - situational
• Overcomes the main problem of naturalism, which is that there is no agreement on ethical facts. For example, NL, DCT, SE, VE and Utilitarianism all have different views and rules concerning what ‘good’ is. Intuitionism simply says that good is whatever feels good to that person.
• Intuitionism admits that it is not always perfect in its application, which is why there are still moral disagreements - realistic view of morality. E.g. Ross argues that disagreements arise when people do not think clearly enough about ‘prima facie duties’.

Question 24

Give weaknesses of Intuitionism

Answer 24

• It is not clear how people have moral intuitions. They could be a faculty in the brain or a reasoning process, but since they are unobservable, it seems more likely to say they do not exist in their own right.
• Because intuitions are unreasoned by nature, it makes it very hard to discuss differing intuitions are there can be no argument to back them up. How do you chose between them?
• Social norms can very easily influence a person, so it could be that intuition is nothing more than the unconscious internalisation of social norms/values. E.g. in the 18th century, a person may have thought that slavery was an intuitive good because it was a social norm, but this could never be said today.
• Intuitionism has led many to turn to ethical non-cognitivism, which is the belief that moral statements are nothing more than the expression of subjective emotion (e.g. Ayer). If this becomes the common belief, everything that was thought to be a moral absolute, such as ‘killing innocent children is wrong’, suddenly becomes subjective, which is not appealing to most.

Question 25

What is the Neo-naturalist approach and how can it criticise Intuitionism?

Answer 25

• Neo-naturalism gives a plausible explanation of ‘good’, meaning that Moore may have been wrong in saying it was indefinable.
• It says that virtue is central to ethics, but virtue is determined by biological and/or sociological facts.
• Biology and sociology point towards virtue, so people should try to attain these virtues as they lead to ‘human flourishing’.
• This explanation means that morality becomes objective and cognitive, as ‘human flourishing’ is a socio-biological fact that is in the natural world.