Meta-ethics Flashcards
Give a quote from Philipa Foot on Naturalism
“Oaks have to have to have deep sturdy roots, there is something wrong with them if they do not.” (Naturalism more effective than Intuitionism? Modern developments of Virtue Ethics may accept naturalistic principles as Foot suggests with her reworking of Aristotlean Virtue Ethics for modern humans).
Give a quote from F.H. Bradley on naturalism and duty
“In my station my particular duties are prescribed to me, and I have them whether I wish to or not.”
Give a quote from F.H. Bradley on naturalism and man’s role in society
“A man’s life with its moral duties is in the main filled up by his station in that system of wholes which the state is.”
Give a challenge to Naturalism from Hume
“For as this ought, or ought not, expresses some new relation or affirmation, it is necessary that it should be observed and explained…”
Give a challenge to Naturalism from G.E. Moore
“If I am asked, “What is good?” my answer is that good is good, and that is the end of the matter.”
Give a quote from H.A. Pritchard on the self-evident nature of intuitionism
“The sense that we ought to do certain things arises in our unreflective consciousness.”
Give a quote from Pricchard on the derivation of an “ought”.
“An ‘ought’ if it is to be derived at all, can only be derived from amother ‘ought’.”
Give a quote from G.E. Moore on intuitionism and a mature mind.
“Still less do I imply that any intuition whatever is true… on the contrary, that in every way in which it is possible to cognise a true proposition, it is also possible to cognise a false one.”
Give a challenge to intuitionism from J.L. Mackie.
“The suggestion that moral judgements are made… by just sitting down and having an ethical intuition is a travesty of actual moral thinking.”
Give a quote on the nature of morality from A.J. Ayer.
“In saying that a certain type of action is right or wrong, I am not making any factual statement, nor even a statement about my own state of mind.”
Give a quote from A.J. Ayer on the purpose of ethical terms.
“Ethical terms do not serve only to express feelings. They are calculated also to arouse feeling, and so to stimulate action.”
Give a quote from Stevenson on the meaning of good.
“Good has an emotive meaning when a person morally approves of someone.”
Give a challenge to emotivism from Mel Thompson.
“You cannot reduce morality to a set of cheers and boos.”
Give a weakness of emotivism from Peter Vardy.
“Just hot air.”
