Intuitionist non-naturalism (realist & cognitivist) Flashcards
What two arguments did G. E. Moore use to reject Naturalism?
The naturalistic fallacy and the open question argument
Moore argued that these concepts illustrate the flaws in defining goodness through natural properties.
What is the naturalistic fallacy?
It claims that it is a fallacy to assume that something being natural means that it is good.
What does the open question argument suggest about the statement ‘goodness = pleasure’?
‘Goodness = pleasure’ is uninformative, similar to ‘pleasure = pleasure’, and thus cannot be true.
According to Moore, can goodness be defined?
No, goodness cannot be defined without leading to the naturalistic fallacy.
How does Moore differentiate between closed and open questions?
A closed question has a clear definition, while an open question does not.
What analogy does Moore use to explain the nature of goodness?
He compares goodness to the color yellow, which cannot be defined but is recognized intuitively.
What is the role of intuition according to Moore?
Intuition is our mental ability to apprehend the non-natural reality and know moral propositions are true or false.
What is the strength of intuitionism as proposed by Moore?
There is cross-cultural moral agreement on core moral codes.
What is Mackie’s critique of intuitionism?
Mackie argues that vast cross-cultural disagreements exist and explains moral intuitions through social conditioning.
What does Mackie conclude about right and wrong?
Mackie concludes that there is no right or wrong, asserting anti-realism.
What is error theory according to Mackie?
All ethical beliefs are false since there is no right or wrong in reality.
What is Ayer’s theory of emotivism?
Emotivism is the view that ethical language expresses emotions rather than beliefs.
What is the verification principle?
A statement is only meaningful if it is either analytic or empirically verifiable.
Why did Ayer conclude that ethical language is not meaningful?
Because ethical language is neither analytic nor verifiable.
What argument did Hume present that influenced Ayer’s view on ethical language?
Hume’s motivation argument, which states that only desires are motivating, not beliefs.
Fill in the blank: Ayer concluded that ethical language expresses _______.
emotions.
True or False: Ayer’s emotivism is based solely on the verification principle.
False.
