Meta ethics (Intuitionism) Flashcards
who was the founder of intuitionism?
G.E.Moore
what did Moore believe we should do?
whatever causes the most good to exist
what are moral truths for Moore?
indefinable but self evident through intuition
why did Moore want to reject utilitarianism
it says goodness can be defined, qualified and quantified
what is good?
a simple notion, just as yellow is a simple notion- you know when you see it. But you cannot define it
quote from Moore ‘principal ethica’
“if I am asked what is good? my answer is that good is good and that is the end of the matter”
how did Moore attempt to define good?
in terms of something that can be verified or falsified is to commit that naturalistic fallacy
how can’t you define goodness
natural quality
how was Moore influenced by Hume?
you cannot infer from description of how the world ‘is’ to how the world ‘ought’ to be
what does H.A.Pritchard suggest about reason?
reason collects facts and intuition determine what course of action to follow
what did H.A.Pritchard distinguish between?
- ‘general thinking (reason)’ used to access the facts of a situation
- ‘moral thinking’ based on immediate intuition about the right thing to do
what did Pritchard recognise was different based on people?
different people have different intuitions about what is right
who was WD Ross?
pritchards student
for ross what is right?
right is always unique depending on what is “morally suitable” for the situation
for ross what should we do when we don’t know all the facts of a situation ?
base our judgements about what’s right and wrong on intuitions
