Meta Ethics

Question 1

What do ethical cognitivists believe?

Answer 1

Ethical statements are factual statements which tell us something true or false about the world

Question 2

What do ethical non-cognitivists believe?

Answer 2

Ethical statements are not factual statements; their purpose is not to express something true or false about the world

Question 3

Which two schools of metaethics are considered non-cognitivist?

Answer 3

Emotivism (A.J. Ayer/Vienna Circle)
Prescriptivism (R.M. Hare)

These are not named on the spec but worth knowing as critique

Question 4

Why is emotivism often described as the “boo-hurrah” theory?

Answer 4

Because it suggests that ethical statements are emotional outbursts, e.g. ‘hurrah, charity!’/’boo, killing!’ rather than factual statements

Question 5

Which theory/theories are naturalist?

Answer 5

Utilitarianism

Question 6

Which theory/theories are non-naturalist?

Answer 6

Divine Command Theory
Intuitionism

Question 7

What is ethical naturalism?

Answer 7

The view that moral statements are the same as, or can be reduced to, statements about natural properties

Question 8

What is a natural property?

Answer 8

Any property which can be investigated through the natural sciences (e.g. empirically)

Question 9

What is ethical non-naturalism?

Answer 9

The view that ethical statements are cognitive, but cannot be reduced to statements about natural properties

Question 10

Why is DCT considered a non-naturalist theory?

Answer 10

Because it treats ethical statements as objectively true (cognitivist) but believes they have a transcendent source (non-naturalist)

Question 11

Which of God’s qualities is most important when considering DCT?

Answer 11

Omnipotence: if God does not decide the meaning of right and wrong, there is something more powerful/fundamental than Him

Question 12

How does the specification define DCT?

Answer 12

“Right is what God commands, wrong is what God forbids”

Question 13

What does God’s omnibenevolence mean in terms of DCT?

Answer 13

He always commands out of love

Question 14

Who are the two main DCT scholars?

Answer 14

John Calvin
Karl Barth

Question 15

Finish the quote from John Calvin: “The will of God is the…”

Answer 15

“The will of God is the supreme will of righteousness”

Question 16

Why does John Calvin believe we need revealed instructions (e.g. the Ten Commandments)?

Answer 16

Our natural reason is useful but flawed due to the Fall - direct commands from God can redeem our reason and set us on the right path

Question 17

Complete the quote from Karl Barth: “‘How can God be understood as the Lord if that does not involve the problem of human ….”

Answer 17

obedience

Question 18

How does Barth link the sacrifice of Christ to DCT?

Answer 18

It has decided the “question of good and evil” for good, meaning that Jesus’ final commands are absolute and eternal

Question 19

Give a strength of DCT

Answer 19

For those who accept that morality is commanded by God, his commands can be easily found in scripture
It provides an answer to the question “Why be moral?”, by linking to accountability and reward and punishment in Heaven and Hell
For Christians, it makes little sense to follow any other theory since this could undermine God’s omnipotence

Question 20

Give a weakness of DCT

Answer 20

Scripture contains many commands which are outdated and/or self-contradictory
Reducing morality to obedience potentially undermines our sense of autonomy - should we not form our own opinions?
DCT only appeals to people with preexisting belief in the Abrahamic God - it would not be a workable theory for an atheist or a Buddhist

Question 21

Why is Bentham considered a naturalist?

Answer 21

Because he reduces goodness to the natural property of pleasure

Question 22

Complete the quote from Bentham: “Nature has placed mankind under the governance of…”

Answer 22

“…two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure.”

Question 23

What is an ethical hedonist?

Answer 23

Someone who believes that right and wrong are the same as pleasure and pain

Question 24

How does the Hedonic Calculus link to the idea of ethical naturalism?

Answer 24

It shows that pleasure/goodness can be measured using empirical methods, like other natural properties

Question 25

Who came up with Rule Utilitarianism?

Answer 25

John Stuart Mill

Question 26

What complexity does Mill add to the concept of ethical hedonism?

Answer 26

There is a difference between higher and lower pleasures

Question 27

How, according to Mill, can we tell the difference between a higher and lower pleasure?

Answer 27

A competent judge who has experienced both would always take a small quantity of higher pleasures over a large quantity of lower pleasures

Question 28

Complete the quote from John Stuart Mill: “It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than…”

Answer 28

“…a pig satisfied”

Question 29

Give two strengths of ethical naturalism

Answer 29

It appeals to the intuitive human sense that pleasure is good and pain is bad; most people at least avoid pain for themselves
It gives due consideration to animal pain as morally relevant

Question 30

Give two weaknesses of ethical naturalism

Answer 30

Ethical naturalism faces problems such as the sadistic guard problem, where seemingly immoral acts pass the Hedonic Calculus
Mill’s distinction between higher and lower pleasures fixes this but could be argued to collapse into a form of intuitionism

Question 31

How does the specification define intuitionism?

Answer 31

‘Moral values are self-evident’

Question 32

Why does intuitionism count as a non-naturalist theory?

Answer 32

Because it says that ethical statements are cognitive but cannot be reduced to natural statements

Question 33

Who are the two main scholars of intuitionism?

Answer 33

G.E. Moore and W.D. Ross

Question 34

What is the main difference between Moore and Ross?

Answer 34

Moore is intuitionist about ENDS - he believes the ethical goods we strive towards (e.g. happiness, peace) are self-evident

Ross is intuitionist about DUTIES - he believes certain obligations (e.g. gratitude to others) are self-evident

Question 35

According to Moore, why do we disagree about ethics if moral ends are self-evident?

Answer 35

Because the means used to achieve these are not evident e.g. HOW to create a fair society

Question 36

According to Ross, why do we disagree about ethics if moral duties are self-evident?

Answer 36

Because these duties sometimes conflict with each other and it is not always easy to tell which ought to be followed

Question 37

What is Moore’s open question argument?

Answer 37

If we have made a statement about pleasure we can always ask a further question about morality: “x is pleasurable but is it also good?” Therefore pleasure and goodness are not the same

Question 38

What is the naturalistic fallacy?

Answer 38

The fallacy of deriving ‘ought’ (ethical) statements from ‘is’ (naturalistic) descriptions

Question 39

What two words does Moore use to describe ethical statements?

Answer 39

Simple / unanalysable

Question 40

What is good like, according to Moore?

Answer 40

Yellow - also cannot be defined, just intuited

Question 41

According to Ross, fidelity, reparation, and gratitude are all examples of what?

Answer 41

Prima facie duties

Question 42

Give two strengths of intuitionism

Answer 42

It raises issues with naturalism which naturalism has not been able to solve
It explains why we disagree about ethics while at the same time sharing certain common convictions

Question 43

Give two weaknesses of intuitionism

Answer 43

There is no way to distinguish between moral truths which are actually right and those which SEEM right - in fact we often change our minds about seemingly obvious moral truths throughout our lives
Ethical naturalists argue that our moral intuitions can generally be reduced to personal interests/social values and therefore naturalism still holds the superior explanation