Meta Ethics (2) Flashcards

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1
Q

Define Emotivism?

A
  • Theory promoted by the logical positivists that ethical sentences simply evince emotions
  • They are strictly meaningless
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2
Q

Give examples of how emotivists would interpret ethical language?

A
  • Good, bad, right and wrong are emotional states of disapproval
  • These used in ethical sentences are meaningless
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3
Q

What is the boo/hurrah theory by A.J. Ayer?

A
  • When one says ‘murder is wrong’ it is equivalent to saying ‘boo to murder’
  • Saying ‘giving to charity is good’ is equivalent to saying ‘hurrah to giving to charity’
  • Shows how ethical statements are merely emotional states of what is deemed right and wrong
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4
Q

What do logical positivists believe are meaningful statements

A
  • Statements are only meaningful if it is a tautology and true by definition
  • Ethical statements on the other hand, e.g murder is wrong, is not true by definition nor gives reason for the wrongness for murder
  • Hume may be right that there is no factual element and therefore ethical statements cannot be verified and are meaningless
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5
Q

Two Quotes of Ayers idea of emotivism?

A

“ethical judgements are mere expressions of feeling”
“stealing money is wrong… sentence with no factual meaning”

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6
Q

How does emotivism confuse conclusively proving something and giving reasons for something

A
  • Can be said they set the bar too high with having to conclusively prove something for it to be valid
  • We can still give reasons for ethical statements which are valid, e.g I might say murder is wrong because of the pain it puts their family through
  • This shows how emotivism renders ethical judgements meaningless without considering the very valid reasons they are arisen
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7
Q

How can emotivism lead to a lack of rational ethical discourse?

A
  • To say that all ethical statements are meaningless discards rational ethical discourse
  • if someone is being racist the victim, if an emotivist, would have no way of justifying how a non-racist view is of more value and superiority
  • Emotivism shuts down rational ethical discourse
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8
Q

What is American Philosopher Alan Gewirth’s ‘Principle of Generic Consistency’?

A
  • Idea that human life necessarily requires treating everyone else as having the same rights and duties as myself
  • Humans are not self-sufficient and rather we are in contractual obligations with most other people
  • If we then treat them badly we put ourselves at a loss too, being moral is a reality based living not logical living
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9
Q

How does Wojtyla argue in line with Gerwith?

A
  • Argument that ethical demand grows out of human encounter
  • We encounter the emotions of love, desire, needs and demands, things we need to be moral
  • If this is the case then perhaps we need a different measure of ethics, not a scientific one
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