meta ethics Flashcards
Moore analogy
Compares ethical terms such as goodness to the colour yellow. We can’t describe yellow but we can recognise it, in the same way we can’t describe goodness but we can recognise it.
H.A. Pritchard
We need to use both out reason and intuition. Reason collects facts and then our intuition determines what to do.
Ross
There are objective moral truths to guide our moral judgements.
Freud and Skinner
People are conditioned by social factors. For example, parenting or schooling will affect our intuition.
Thomas Reid
Even if our intuition I reliable, it doesn’t mean that we will use it reliably.
E.O. Wilson and Michael Ruse
Morality is as a result of natural selection. We promote kin-altruism and co-operation for our survival.
Daniel Kahneman
Intuition is too vague and we need to pair our intuition with reason.
Hume
Ethical terms are just an emotional response to whether we like it or not.
A.J. Ayer
Presents morality as meaningless. It contains neither facts or matter and its neither verifiable or falsifiable.
Brand Blanshard example
Uses example of a rabbit caught in a trap dying painfully but out of sight of humans. Just because it is out of sight of humans there is no emotional reaction to it but this doesn’t mean that it is neither right nor wrong.
Phillipa Foot
A moral person has qualities that are observable. For example, an honest person is someone who sees honesty as important.
F.H. Bradley
Morals are observable and are a part of the concrete world. Goodness is the motivation to make the world a better place and occurs when a society works well together.
J.L. Mackie
Moral rules can be observed but they are based on tradition rather than absolute constructs.
Moore open question
Can words such as pleasure and good be used synonymously. For example, bear bating is pleasurable but is it good?
Stevenson
2 people can be arguing about beliefs and not facts, morals may just be subjective beliefs informed by cultural differences.
