Meta-Ethical Theories Flashcards
Applied Ethics
Specific questions asked on practical issues
Normative Ethics
How we can decide what is right and wrong or what ethical theories are best for that
Meta Ethics
questions whether right and wrong even exist and how we speak about it
cognitive
belief that moral statements are able to be true or false
non cognitive
belief that moral statements are not subject to truth or falsity
What are the two debates in meta ethics
Meaning - about what is really meant by words like good or right and whether this moral language is cognitive or not
Existence - whether moral truths actually exist in reality and the world, realist vs anti-realist
Naturalism
Suggests good bad right wrong can be observed empirically in the same way we observe other facts in the world, realist and cognitive
Intuitionsim
Suggests good bad right wrong do exist but can’t be discovered empirically like other facts, they can only be known through intuition and are self evident, realist and cognitive
Emotivism
Rejects that good bad right wrong actually exist, argues moral statements are subjective opinions based on emotion, anti-realist and non-cognitive
How do Aquinas and Aristotle as naturalists suggest the moral goodness of an object can be discovered
All things have purpose that can be observed in the world and the extent to which they perform this purpose is the extent to which they are good.
How does Mill suggest moral goodness can be discovered
He uses Utilitariansim to show that by observing the world one can see humans enjoy pleasure and dislike pain so it is clear that something that is pleasurable is good
What is FH Bradleys Book
Ethical studies
How does FH Bradley support naturalism
Humans as they grow up realise that personal satisfaction is found in contributing to society and making the world better, this is why good actions are things we do to help others, if we fall short of this we are disappointed
What did Aristotle suggest is good
Any act that contributes to eudaemonia
What is Bradleys term for what drives us to be good
Natural psychological inclination
Strengths of Naturalism
- general agreement on moral values throughout the world on what is good or bad, suggest that these are facts known universally
- Reducing morality to opinion reduces the significance of ethical debates on matters like murder
- Utilitarianism shows happiness is something all people want so must be good
- Proves that universal human rights should be enforced and defended
How does Hume show weaknesses in Naturalism
We can’t move easily from an empirical statement to a moral one, fact value gap, just because something is good doesn’t mean we should do it, giving out sweets is good but we don’t have to do it.
What solution does Searle provide to Hume
Institutional facts bridge the fact value gap, humans dislike pain so torture is wrong, but the institutional fact would be that society believes there are more humane ways to receive information than torture
How does Nozick criticise Naturalism
Dangers of basing moral judgements on natural facts, pleasure is good so all humans should be wired up to happiness stimulating machines their whole life
How does G.E Moore criticise Naturalism
Not all pleasure directly equates to goodness as pleasure from eating crisps isn’t always good as it is unhealthy
Weaknesses of Naturalism
- Assumes a purpose of everything and of humans, existentialism argues humans have no purpose
- Naturalistic fallacy, just because something is natural doesn’t mean it has to be good, heterosexuality is natural but this doesn’t make homosexuality morally wrong
How does Philippa Foot support naturalism
We call someone good based on our observations of their behaviour, moral facts can be inferred from observation
What are the two types of questions that can be asked in GE Moores open question argument
closed and open
Closed question
Only one answer is possible, a bachelor has to be unmarried
Open question
Questions with multiple possible answers, is the bachelors hair brown
How does Moore use his open question argument to reject naturalism and agree with Hume
If pleasure is good then surely anything it is a closed question to ask if something that brings pleasure is good, but it is an open question because not everything that brings pleasure is good.
What does Moore believe about good
He argues it is indefinable as a objective truth in the world but is self evident and can be known intuitively
What example does more use to portray his opinion on good
No one can define what the colour yellow is yet we can all recognise the colour when its presented, this is the same as what is good.Good is a simple idea like yellow that can’t be listed into parts like a horse could
How does H.A Pritchard support intuitionism
In moral dilemmas humans have an intuition of what to do to have the best outcome
How does W.D Ross support intuitionism
We intuitively know when something is good, but we have moral duties/prima facie duties we must uphold. By intuition we know what duties to place above others depending on the circumstance
What is G.E Moores book
principa ethica
Strengths of intuitionism
- Takes into account the fact value gap
- recognises significant moral agreement in the world, it isnt all subjective
- Can establish moral facts of right and wrong
- Common sense is an agreeable idea as all people agree what is ugly or attractive so it can be the same with good or bad
Weaknesses of Intuitionism
- Moral truths aren’t self evident in the world because not all people agree on what is right and wrong (abortion)
- Intuitionism isnt scientific and is a bit far fetched to assume an intrinsic power of intuition in all people
- Little different between just knowing right and wrong and having a feeling of right and wrong like emotivism
- Intuition isnt its own faculty but just human reason acting in a shorter amount of time
How does Freud Criticise Intuitionsm
Ideas of right and wrong aren’t intrinsic and intuitively based, they are products of ones social conditioning and authoritative voices in their upbringing
How does Kahneman criticise Intuitionism
Intuitions can be based on fear or greed, so may not be the most rational judgement, so review and revision is required on our intuitions
What is Humes Fork two ideas of knowledge
Relation of ideas - Apriori ideas of how things relate to each other (maths)
Matters of fact - Aposteriori ideas of things we can observe in the world (water boils at 100 degrees
What is Humes quote for any idea not on his fork
’ Should be committed to the flames’
Why did Hume argue for emotivism
It is natural for humans to act driven by emotions, but their actions and beliefs shouldn’t be accepted as moral facts
Analytic statement
True by definition (all bachelors are married men)
Synthetic statement
Must be empirically proven (I am wearing my glasses)
What did Ayer conclude about moral statements
They are not analytic or synthetic so are meaningless they are merely expressions of ones own emotion
Explain Ayers Boo Harah theory
One person may like or harah fox hunting, another may dislike it calling it wrong so boo it. This is just two different peoples opinions there is no objective moral fact
Why did Ayer later change his view
After the evils of WW2 he gave more acceptance to moral statements about right and wrong
How did CL Stevenson support emotivism
words have a descriptive and dynamic meaning, the statement ‘loaded down with work’ is descriptive but also dynamic as it is with the hopes of someone helping to relieve the work. Saying abortion is wrong is descriptive but had the dynamic intent for all women to stop aborting, moral statements express ones own view on the world
Strengths of emotivism
- Explains why peoples ideas and moral views are all different
- Avoids the naturalistic fallacy as moral values aren’t linked to anything objective int he world
How does Goleman support Emotivism
In psychology the emotive part of the brain acts before the reasoning part
How does Rachel’s criticise emotivism
Moral judgements do appeal to reason as their are many clear reasons why genocide is wrong, it isnt just emotive
Who does Hare support
Stevenson
How does Phillipa Foot criticise emotivism
It trivialises Ethical debate, debates on concentration camps shouldn’t be reduced to matter of opinion
What are Macintyre’s 3 criticisms of emotivism
- Confuses meaning with use, what is important for moral language is the significance it has for those who use it, meaning doesn’t concern them
- Moral language doesn’t aim to force beliefs on others
- Doesn’t help distinct morality and other opinions like music taste
Weaknesses of emotivism
- suggests all emotive feeling are equal, how can hitler and Martin Luther king be equal
- Danger of nihilism in suggesting no objective moral rules reduces the world to survival of the fittest
- No compelling reason for people to act morally
- Renders ethical debate pointless as it just becomes a boo harah shouting match
What are the main four reasons for why Ethical terms are meaningful
- widespread agreement in the world on right and wrong
- progress in history towards a better or good future is clear (abolition of slavery wasn’t just a change but a good change)
- If there were no right wrong then we would have to tolerate all answers to an issue
- Without ethical debate having meaning nothing essentially matters reducing the world to nihilism
What are Mackie’s three arguments on why ethical language is meaningless
Relativism
Empiricism
Queerness
Mackie - Relativism
too much disagreement on right and wrong in the world for their to be an objective ethical fact
Mackie - Empiricism
Nothing available to the senses suggests right and wrong so they don’t exists objectively in the world and are human inventions
Mackie - Queerness
Moral ideas are action guiding as to not steal because one may believe it is wrong, but empirical facts don’t guide our actions, so moral ideas aren’t objective facts, if they were they would be an unusual anomaly in the world
reasons why Meta Ethics is the most important ethical debate
- good bad right and wrong are discussed un all other ethics so it is first necessary to discuss the meaning of these
- Meaning of terms is important so that ethical debate doesn’t create misunderstanding
- Prevents descent into nihilism
reasons why meta ethics is not the most important ethical debate
- Has little relevance on the day to day practical level
- Further discussion is required at the normative and applied level in order to realise what to do
- Harmful to moral development as it has led to emotivist position that moral judgements are just opinion which essentially rules put all ethical debate
