Meta Ethics Knowledge Flashcards
Absolutism
the view that morals are fixed, unchanging truths that everyone should always follow
emotivism
ethical theories that hold that mora; statements are not statements of fact but are either beliefs or emotions
hedonism
the belief that pleasure is the good and nothing else is the good
intuitionsim
ethical theroies that hold that moral knowledge is recieve in a different way from science and logic
meta ethics
the study of the meaning and justification of moral ideas.
naturaliusm
ethical theories that hold that morals are part of the natural world and can be recognisde or observed in some way
naturalistic fallacy
G E Moores argument that it is a mistake to define moral terms with reference to other properties
Open question argument
moores view that we can say that something has a natural quality , such as pleasure , yet we can still significantly ask whether that something is good
relativism
the view that moral truths are not fixed and are not absolute
what is right chnges according to the individual, the situation, the culture, the time and the place
vienna circle
a group of philosophers known as logical postivits who rejected claims that moral truth can be verified as objectively true
what is applied ethics ?>
was rit right for her to steal the bread ?
is war ever justified ?
what is normative ethics ?
what is the best approach to ethical issues ?
what is an example of meta ethics question ?
is there such thing as right or worng
what do these words mean ?
what does cognitive meann ?
can be true or false
what does non-cognitive mean ?
express feelings on an issue not ture or false
who made the is/ought gap ?
david hume
what is the is/ought gap >?
we cant see any proof of a connector between these in the real world
hume claims that things we can see empircally that starts to bridge the gap (like pleasure/pain and naturalism) dont go far enough
what are the similarities between naturalism and intuitionism ?
facts exist about what is right and wrong
what makes naturalism different to intuitionism ?
moral truths are able to be discovered by observation of the world around us. green tree exists in a mind independant reality
what is John Stuart Mills type of naturalism ?
based on utilitarianism
we are able to see that certain actions lead to pleasure and certain leads to pain , this enables us to discover what is right or wrong
what is aquinas type of naturalism ?
everything has a purpose we can observe how good something is by asking whether its fulfilling its purpose
what is naturalistic fallacy ?
clais that if something is natural , then it must be good
we may be wrong to equate the two
is there a widespread agreement on moral truths ?
the fact we largely aree on what is rigth and wrong suggests this is a factual matter rather than a matter of opinion
why does moore not agree with mills ??
open question argument
pleasure cant be the same thing as goodness as it is possible to ask if the pleasure is truly good
what is a closed question /
where only one answer is actually possible
what is an open question ?
several different anwaers are possible
why does moore reject naturalism ?
something that brings us pleasure may or may not be good
its an open wuestion
this problem arises whenever we try to define what is good in terms of something that is obervational in the world
why does moore argue that goodness is a simple idea ?
like the concept of yellow, it cannot be broken into parts or properties
what is the quote from moore ?
‘If i am asked what is good ? my answer is the good is good, and that is the end of the matter
what is a strength of intuitism ?
it recognises that there is considerable moral agreement in the world
what is a weakness of intuitism ?
theres also significatn disagreement on the world
PRITCHARD - argues that the intuitions of some people are better than those of others
what is meta ethics more concerned with ?
the language used to communicate ideas of ethics than with the ideas of what is and is not moral
why does ayer think that ethical language is meaningless ?
they cant be verified
what is the verification principle ?
a statement is meaningful if it is either - an analytical statement or a synthetic statement
according to Ayer, what function does ethical language have ?
expressions of personal preferences or emotions
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