Introduction To Meta Ethics

Question 1

What is the Divine Command Theory?

Answer 1

The idea that God is the origin and regulator of morality

Question 2

What are some examples of the Divine Command Theory?

Answer 2

• 10 Commandments
• Aquinas’ notion of the “divine law”

Question 3

What are the 10 Commandments?

Answer 3

a set of moral and religious laws given to God by Moses

Question 4

What is Aquinas’ notion of the divine law?

Answer 4

an eternal and unchangeable law established by God to guide human beings towards their ultimate purpose and moral good

Question 5

The story of Abraham and Isaac

Answer 5

God commanded Abraham to kill his son Isaac to prove his faith and loyalty. Abraham was about to kill his son when God sent an angel to stop him, saying he had proved his faith and they sacrificed a ram instead. If God commands something, even if it is killing your child, it is good

Question 6

The Euthyphro dilemma

Answer 6

Is what God commands good because it is good (1st horn) or is it good because God commands it? (2nd horn)

Question 7

What does the first horn in the Euthyphro dilemma lead to a conflict with? why?

Answer 7

The first horn leads to a conflict with God’s omnipotence

The idea that God cannot do something or is himself held to a standard higher than himself seems to conflict with His omnipotence

Question 8

What does the second horn in the Euthyphro dilemma lead to?

Answer 8

The arbitrariness problem:
Brings God’s reason into question - if God is acting arbitrarily then he cannot be acting based on reason

Question 9

What did Swinburne believe about the Euthyphro dilemma?

Answer 9

Swinburne defends taking the second horn as some moral truths are necessary

Question 10

The Pluralism objection

Answer 10

There are multiple religions and many more have existed in the past and there are potentially an infinite number that we could invent (what Hume said about miracles)

The pluralism objection can be developed by pointing to the possibility of an infinite number of interpretations of the Bible (you could possibly justify anything)

Question 11

A utilitarian approach is usually…

Answer 11

Naturalistic

Question 12

What is Utilitarianism?

Answer 12

A theory of morality that advocates actions that foster happiness or pleasure and oppose actions that cause unhappiness or harm

Question 13

Utilitarianism is…

Answer 13

Naturalistic and Hedonistic as it is centered around pleasure

Question 14

Who invented the first form of Utilitarianism and what is it called?

Answer 14

jeremy bentham’s act utilitarianism

Question 15

According to Bentham what makes an action good? What is this called?

Answer 15

Principle of Utility:
an action is good if it leads fo the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people (consequentialist)

Question 16

Jeremy Bentham stated that naturally we are rules by two key things… (quote)

Answer 16

Pleasure and pain
“nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure”

Question 17

Betham’s felicific/hedonic calculus

Answer 17

The principle of utility holds that the “greatest” pleasure is the goal of ethical action. It follows that a method for measuring pleasure is required. Bentham devised the hedonic calculus to do this

Question 18

what seven different factors are used in the hedonic calculus?

Answer 18

Intensity
Duration
Certainty
Propinquity
Fecundity
Purity
Extent

Question 19

Criticisms of Bentham’s Utilitarianism

Answer 19

• you cannot predict the future so the calculations cannot always be accurate
• pain can be good and pleasure can be bad, therefore Utilitarianism can be contradicted
• There are certain things that are intrinsically good or bad, so there is no reason to do calculations each time
• The majority may sometimes be corrupt

Question 20

what approach did John Stuart Mill take to Utilitarianism?

Answer 20

a qualitative approach - some pleasures are more valuable than others

Question 21

How did Mill divide pleasures?

Answer 21

Higher pleasures (poetry, music…)
Lower pleasures (eating, drinking…)

Question 22

what did Mill famously say about lower and higher pleasures?

Answer 22

It is “better to be a human dissatisfied rather than being a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied”

Question 23

General disadvantage of Utilitarianism

Answer 23

It is worse for minorities as the majority rules