Meta-ethics Flashcards
Ethical naturalism
-Ethical statements can be proven true or false through empirical observation of real-world consequences.
-Moral truths are objective and universal, regardless of individual perspectives or cultural norms.
They divine goodness using natural properties.
Define ethical non-naturalism.
Moral knowldge is a factual property known by intuition, or a divine command.
E.g. DCT argue morality is defined by God’s commands.
What are examples in the world of obsevations made by ethical naturalists?
-Empathy and compassion
-Social cooperation
-Consequences of actions
-Human flourishing
Examples of non-naturalist theories
DCT - argues moral statements about goodness can be cognitive, but they’re not observable in the natural world.
Moore’s intuitionism - argues all humans have intuition and naturally know ‘good’, they don’t need to observe it in the natural world.
“Good is good and that is the end of the matter” (Moore)
What is non-cognitivism?
Claims moral statements are meaningless because they can’t be verified.
Examples of non-cognitivism
Ayer - verification principle implies that moral statements are meaningless if they are not analytic and can’t be verified.
-Ethical statements are simply “emotional ejactulations” according to Ayer.
What is Moore’s Naturalistic Fallacy?
-Non-naturalist
-Can’t define goodness using natural properties in the world like pleasure or desire.
-E.g rape is pleasurable but not morally good.
-Open Question Argument
What is the Open Question Argument?
-Moore
-“Good means pleasurable” but “Is everything pleasurable truly good?”
-There is nothing intrinsically good about natural properties because not everyone will agree that they are good and therefore they are open to question.
Moral intuitionism
-Moore
-Goodness is a simple andnindefinable quality.
-Goodness is self-evident.
-Morality is objective and cognitive.
What is the Euthyphro dilemma?
-Are moral actions good because God commands them to be so, or does God command them because they are good actions?
-Either God commands evil actions (shown in Bible) or God admits there is a force greater than himself.
Found in Plato’s dialogue Euthyphro
What is the Is-Ought Argument?
-Hume
-Just because something ‘is’ in the world, doesn’t mean it ‘ought’ to be.
-You cannot move from a statement ABOUT the world to a statement about what humans OUGHT to do in the world.
-E.g just because an action produces pleasure, doesn’t mean it is morally good.
What does David Hume argue?
“A wise man proportions his beliefs to the evidence”.
-Empiricism and scepticism (you can’t be certain if you haven’t observed).
-All statements are made up of either matters of fact (empirical observation) or relations of ideas (analytically true).
What are a priori and a posteriori statement?
A priori = relies on reason alone.
A posteriori = based on evidence found in observation of the world.
What is Moore’s key test?
‘Principia Ethica’
What are Prima Facie Duties?
-W.D Ross
-Several duties that humans feel they instinctively must do.
1 - keep promises
2 - pay back harm we do to others
3 - not injure others
4 - return favours and services given by others
5 - not harm innocent people
6 - look after parents
What are strengths of moral intuitionism?
-Form of moral realism.
-Avoids naturalistic fallacy.
-Interpreted in a moral sense, not a list of moral definitions, allowing flexibility and accounting for context.
-Allows for duties and moral obligations, satisfying a moral absolutist.
-Common consensus on issues shows common moral intuition.
-Ross’ prima facie duties support Moore as they are just seen as apparent to us.
BUT Ross’ theory is deontological whereas Moore’s is teleological.
What are weaknesses of moral intuitionism?
-People reason to different conclusions, so which is right?
-Can’t be sure our intuition is correct.
-Non-verifiable and therefore could be seen as meaningless (Ayer).
-Hume argued we have a morive for acting in certain ways.
-Some situations are too complex for intuitionism.
-Nietzsche criticised Moore’s ‘yellow’ analogy, and argued that one person may see good as one thing whereas one may see good as another, suggesting the issue of “ethical colour-blindness”.
Counterclaims:
Hume - if we feel motivated towards a particular action it is because we have an innate desire to do it that goes beyond reason.
Define Divine Command Theory.
-The non-naturalist view that morality is defined by God’s commands, revealed through scripture and the Church.
-Deontological
-Cognitive as it claims there is an objective right/wrong.
Define religious legalism.
-Form of DCT
-Argue every law contained within scripture is completely right and must be followed.
Rejected by religious liberals who argue many religious rules are outdated and shouldn’t be followed.
What are beliefs of secular ethics?
-Ethical values are not from God in any way.
-Our ethical values come from authority powers or societal values.
-E.g. virtue ethics + utlitarianism.
What does Dawkins argue?
-We would be better off without religion (secular thinker).
-Religion can cause immorality and be pernicious (evil).
-Advocate of science.
Wrote book called the ‘God Delusion’, criticising belief in God.
How is the absolutism of DCT challenged by secular believers in reference to the Ten Commandments?
‘Thou shalt not commit adultery’
‘Thou shalt not steal’
Believers of DCT argue commands like these cannot be disobeyed under any circumstance. This suggests a weakness of DCT as an individual may face a situation where they must disobey them to survive, but DCT would still not accept that.
The rigidness of DCT suggests it is immoral and flawed.
E.g. women commiting adultery in Auschwitz in order to become pregnant and escape.
What does John Calvin believe?
-God has absolute power.
-God’s will is the ultimate standard of righteousness.
-Moral truths are grounded in God’s commands.
-Human understanding of morality is contingent on obedience to God’s will.
Protestant branch of Christianity - greater focus on scripture (no magisterium/Pope).
What is predestination?
-The idea that God decides our fate.
-Aligns with idea that God’s commands determine morality.
Calvin
What does Karl Barth believe?
-Human morality is falwed due to the Fall.
-Man’s obedience to God is the answer to all questions about ethics.
-Christians should not seek to understand secular principles and rules.
-Christian approach should be critical and uncompromising.
The commands of God totally override human fallible debate on moral issues.
“The question of good and evil has been decidied…by the decree of God”
Protestant branch of Christianity - greater focus on scripture (no magisterium/Pope).
How does Catholic DCT differ from Protestant DCT?
Whilst Protestants believe moral principles should not be questioned, Catholics disagree.
-Catholics believe authority has been given to Catholic authority (Pope/misterium) to interpret Chirstian doctrine.
The Pope’s pronouncements are infallible and therefore shouldn’t be challenged on the basis of human reason/science.
Give examples of questionable Bible commands.
“I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man; she must be quiet” - 1 Timothy
“If a man lies with a man as he does with a woman, both have committed an abomination” - Leviticus
“All the girls that have not known man intimately, spare for yourselves” - Numbers
“Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear” - Ephesians
What are strengths of DCT?
-Provides an objective foundation for morality that offers clarity and stability.
-Provides straightforward moral guidance that is easy to follow.
-Motivates good moral behaviour through concept of rewards and punishments.
-Supports moral realism as morality is grounded in divine commands.
-Independent of human beliefs and therefore human fallibility.
-Fosters a sense of community and social cohesion.
What are weaknesses of DCT?
-Religiously dependent meaning not universal.
-Different religious traditions interpret divine commands differently, leading to inconsistency and conflicts.
-Euthyphro Dilemma
-Lack of moral accountability due to blindly following commands.
-Limited guidance for specific situations.
-Contradictory rules.
E.g. ‘Do not kill’ + ‘An eye for an eye’
What is Bentham’s Act Utilitarianism?
-Goodness is pleasure/happiness.
-“The greatest happiness of the greatest number” (Bentham).
-All pleasures are equal.
-Pleasure is the one intrinsic good and pain is the one intrisic evil.
-Sometimes called quantitive utilitarianism because it’s about quantifying happiness.
Teleological and relative.
Outcome and consequence focused.
What does Bentham say about nature?
“Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure”.
How does Bentham measure pleasure/goodness objectively?
-Hedonic Calculus
-Measures intensity, certainty, duration etc.
-Hedonism = the belief that pleasure is the most important good.
What is Bentham’s Principle of Utility?
-Greatest happiness principle.
-Actions are right if they promote happiness or pleasure, wrong if they produce unhappiness or pain.
What is Mill’s Rule Utilitarianism?
-Goodness is pleasure/happiness
-There are higher and lower pleasures as pleasure should be qualitative rather than quantative.
-Humans should seek the discovery of higher pleasures concerning intellect and culture.
-Utilitarianism is about fair distribution of natural benefits.
Pleasure: higher = intellectual/virtuous + lower = desires etc.
How does Mill criticise Bentham?
-Disagrees with the fact terrible things can be justified through happiness.
-Criticised Bentham’s emphasisi of quantity over quality (amount of pleasure rather than the type).
-Agrees with hedonism but argues many moral rules in society have developed naturally because they benefit society.
Higher and lower pleasures.
Mill quote
“Recognise the fact that some kinds of pleasure are more desirable and more valuable than others).
