Meta ethics Flashcards
meta ethics
concerned with the nature and purpose of morality, with what is meant by right and wrong
cognitive ethics
the claim that ethical judgements state facts and so are either objectively true or false
ethical naturalism
the view that ethical values stem from facts about the nature of the world or human nature
ethical non naturalism
the view that moral knowledge is a factual property known by intuition or by God’s commands
who is the philosopher associated with act utilitarianism
Jeremy Bentham
hedonic calculus
the method Bentham devised for assessing whether a proposed action would maximise pleasure overall
Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarianism key facts
- the sole intrinsic good is happiness, which Bentham understood in terms of pleasure
- all humans should aim to fulfil the greatest happiness
- to seek the greatest good for the greatest number
- Bentham thought pain could be measured
- the pleasure of each individual should count equally
- Bentham’s theory is known as act utilitarianism because its focus is on action not moral rules
strengths of ethical naturalism
- the factual and empirical nature of the proposition
- the objective nature of right/wrong enables us to assess our actions
weaknesses of ethical naturalism
- G.E. Moore accused naturalists theories of committing the naturalistic fallacy. ‘Is does not lead to ought’
- good is undefinable
- ethical non-cognitivists reject the basis of moral judgements in fact.
- if morality is subjective personal preference than there can be no moral rules
counter response of ethical naturalism
- neo naturalism overcomes the challenge of the naturalistic fallacy.
- most people reject the approach of ethical non cognitivism.
naturalistic fallacy
the claim by philosophers such as David Hume and G.E. Moore that it is a fallacy to argue from facts to moral claims: ought cannot be derived from is
neo naturalism
argues that morality does have a factual content. good is that which leads to the flourishing of human beings or the flourishing of the whole environment.
criticisms of naturalism
naturalistic fallacy and open question argument.
open question argument
Moore
good is indefinable. ethical questions for him always open questions this means there not a yes or no answer. ethical naturalism treats them as though they are closed questions. Moore believes it is reasonable to ask is maximising happiness really good and that is up for discussion.
divine command theory ?
Non naturalist theory. Centred on commands of God. religious theory.
God is ultimate authority, moral commands are revealed in scripture and the church.
potential problems with gods commands and solution?
DCT
problem: How many different interpretations of gods commands. both within and between religions.
solution: Everyone should act based on what they understand to be gods commands having done the best they can
intuitionism ?
Non naturalist theory rejects the idea that good can be defined in terms of natural properties.
G.E. Moore criticises naturalism through naturalistic fallacy an open question argument.
good can’t be broken down like natural things.
non natural, cognitivist, realist, secular
what example is used in intuitionism
yellow.
we can understand what yellow is but can’t breakdown it further. once saying it we can use that working example to recognise it and find other examples.
good is the same as this.
Christian DCT
- Predominantly Protestant.
- humans are capable of knowing the commands of
God because they are made in God’s image - God is the source of all goodness and the highest
authority so we should do as he commands - revealed in scripture eg the 10 commandments
and the sermon on the mount - Following the commands of God
Calvin’s DCT
- God it is supremely powerful no force to compel
God he doesn’t follow any rules - humans can’t challenge God or his commands
because he is sovereign so we have to follow his
commands
Barth DCT
- Acknowledges it’s natural to discuss things about
right and wrong - not profitable because God is Lord and his
commands are correct - no higher authority so no real need to question his
commands - enter discussions of a secular nature but not follow
their judgement
divine command theory strengths
- For religious people divine command theory links moral teachings to the factual claims about God it’s coherent.
Response- this relies on religious belief not all people see these commands as factual so cannot be coherent for all.
- moral claims are universal like gods commands they apply to all people in all times
response- please commandments are often debated about or interpreted differently
- it’s a clear system. it’s simple what God says is good or bad is good or bad.
Response- weakness in this thinking raises questions about gods authority
divine command theory weakness
- Euthyphro dilemma. All gods commands good because God commands them or are they commanded by God because they are good. the first may allow God to act like tyrant the second means God is no longer sovereign
Response- Could logically command evil but he doesn’t and his character throughout scripture shows this.
intuitionism strengths
- Most people recognise that they have moral intuitions and that moral intuitions underpinned their moral judgments.
Response- how do we move forward from this? if people hold intuitions even with evidence provided we cannot derive a moral system we cannot really judge someones actions.
- it overcomes one of the central problems in ethical naturalism which is that there is not an agreement about what the key natural facts of ethics is.
Response- There are problems with intuitions many believe criticisms of naturalism can be overcome
intuitionism weakness
- Maybe intuitionism leads to non-cognitivism because it is difficult to see how intuitions come into existence.
Response- Moore believes intuitions are mind independent facts so it is cognitivists.
- maybe the naturalistic fallacy can be overcome and therefore naturalism doesn’t fail.
Response- Even with adding in steps to the ought gap to solve it there are still problems
Utilitarianism strengths
- Ethical statements can be true purple can be evaluated because they are based on natural facts and properties
Response- naturalistic fallacy, open question argument, disagreement on natural facts and how they are measured.
- right and wrong can be objective as mind independent natural facts are at the heart of utilitarianism
response - Can they be objective open question arguments suggest they can’t be factual as they can be questioned.
utilitarianism weaknesses
- Does this not lead to becoming a happiness pump.
Response- just need to factor ourselves into the hedonic calculus
- Non-cognitivism says you cannot have ethical statements which are factual they are simply an expression of approval or disapproval which is meaningless.
Response- does mean something based on natural observable facts.
- it falls victim to the open question argument and the naturalistic fallacy
response- we can overcome these
what does the hedonic calculus consist of
purity remoteness richness intensity certainty extent duration
what does utilitarianism say we ought to do
seek the greatest happiness for the greatest numer of people
give an example of naturalist meta ethical theories
situation ethics and utilitarianism
