moral opinion Flashcards
what is objectivism?
can our moral opinions be true or false? opinions are made true by objective facts.
Hume’s Fork
theory about the nature of truth
Matters of fact: these are empirical claims that require investigation. (water boils at 100 degrees)
Relations of ideas: these are claims that are true simply in virtue of the ideas involved. (Bachelors are unmarried. It’s part of the idea of ‘bachelor’ that the thing described is unmarried.)
mind independent- what you believe about these truths doesn’t effect their truth value
Hume’s theory of action
Belief-states: This is our Reason, which discovers truths and falsehoods.
Desire-states: These are our Passions. They’re
like Kant’s inclinations. But they aren’t truth-conducive
(they can’t be true or false).
***morality isn’t derived from reason
objectivism definition
our moral opinions are about objective moral facts.
subjectivism definition
our moral opinions are about facts, but they are facts about our individual subjectivities.
relativism definition
our moral opinions are about facts, but they are facts
about the practices of specific groups of people.
emotivism definition
our moral opinions are not about facts at all – they’re not beliefs but something else.
against objectivism claims
If there is some matter of fact, why is there so much widespread disagreement about really important issues (e.g. abortion, death penalty)?
Questions how much room we have for tolerance about certain issues.
Moral truths are hard to ground, or justify.
ethical subjectivism definition
moral statements are not objective matters of fact. Instead, they are facts about our internal preferences.
ethical relativism definition
our moral opinions are facts about what’s allowed in a particular group, culture, or society.
Logical Positivism definition
All truths are either:
Sythentic and knowable by empirical observation. (a synthetic claim must be verifiable for it to have any meaning)
Analytic and knowable by reflection alone.
