Meta Ethics Key Vocab

Question 1

Non cognitivism

Answer 1

Ethical language expressed emotions or makes recommendations (rather than making claims about reality which are true or false)

Question 2

Moral realism

Answer 2

Ethical statements are either true or false. What makes them true is that they have a mind independent existence of the moral properties used in the statement

Question 3

Give an example of moral realism

Answer 3

Lying for personal gain is wrong/ Sam is a morally good person

Question 4

Moral anti realism

Answer 4

Ethical statements are neither true or false. There are no mind independent moral properties; moral statements express attitudes

Question 5

Example of moral anti realism

Answer 5

‘Sam is a morally good person’ - I like sam/ sam does thinks so make others happy

Question 6

Emotivism

Answer 6

Ethical language expresses emotions (Hume and Ayer)

Question 7

Intuitionism

Answer 7

We can determine what’s right or good according to our moral intuitions. ‘Right’ and ‘good’ does refer to something objective, but they can’t be reduced to naturalistic terms

Question 8

Is/ought gap

Answer 8

You cannot draw a conclusion which is evaluative (ought) from premises which are purely factual or descriptive

Question 9

Meta ethics

Answer 9

Study by moral philosophers of the meaning of moral judgements.

Question 10

Naturalism

Answer 10

We can explain moral concepts, such as good, in naturalistic terms, such as happiness or pleasure

Question 11

Naturalistic fallacy

Answer 11

Moral terms such as good cannot be defined because they’re ‘non natural’ -yellow argument and open question argument

Question 12

Prescriptivist

Answer 12

Non cog view of the meaning of moral terms and judgements. Moral language has a special use and the purpose of moral judgement is to prescribe actions (to urge others to act in a certain way)

Question 13

Relativism

Answer 13

Moral judgements vary according to the social context in which they are made.(moral values or standards are different in different societies so what’s right for me may not be right for you)

Question 14

Verification principle

Answer 14

A proposition is only meaningful if it can be shown to be true or false by experience or by analysis of the meanings of the terms involved

Question 15

Congnitivism

Answer 15

Ethical language makes descriptive claims about reality which are either true or false. (As opposed to merely expressing emotions or making recommendations)