PHILOSOPHY: Ethics/Epistemology Quiz Flashcards
altruism
The tendency of members of a species to behave helpful toward others. For example, if a crow detects the approach of a predator, such as an owl, the crow may caw out a warning, even though doing so jeopardizes its own life. This suggests that something more than “survival of the fittest” is at work, and that naturalistic observations can supply a basis for more positive moral values.
Hume’s guillotine
There is no simple road from saying something “is so” to saying something “ought to be so.” For example, we may see that the poor are starving, but this does not mean that they ought to remain starving; neither does it imply that we ought to feed them if we can.
objective
An ethical judgment is true whether or not we believe it is. For example, if we say that cannibalization is objectively wrong, we are saying that it is wrong regardless of our feeling
applied ethics
Asks, “How can we apply ethical judgment to particular problems,” such as abortion, war, public order, animal rights, and the justice system. Applied ethics helps us resolve real-world dilemmas and issues, and thus “takes ethics to the streets,”.
libertarians
Assumes that when we feel as though we are making our own choices and decisions, we really are. While admitting that we cannot control everything in the world, libertarians nevertheless argue that much is under our control, and we are responsible for what we choose to do.
relativism
The view that truth, morality, or knowledge is not absolute but depends on individual perspectives, cultural contexts, or historical circumstances. It suggests that what is considered true or right can vary between individuals or societies, with no universal standard to judge them as objectively superior. For example, in moral relativism, practices like arranged marriage may be viewed as acceptable and ethical within one culture, while being criticized as restrictive or outdated in another.
determinists
Insists that we are not free at all and that our choices are nothing other than the impact of external forces. For example, some philosophers believed that everything was controlled by fate and the only thing that humans could control was their own attitude to it.
logical consistencies
Beliefs that don’t contradict one another. For example, the statements “All humans are mortal” and “Socrates is a human; therefore, Socrates is mortal” are logically consistent because they align reasoning.
excusing conditions
Factors in a situation that may excuse actions we might otherwise regard as immoral. There are 3 types of excusing conditions: ignorance, trying, and compulsion.
Ignorance
What an agent does not know cannot be his or her moral responsibility, unless the ignorance was avoidable
Compulsion
If forced to do something, then this thing may be excusable, if the force involved could not be avoided and was sufficiently serious to warrant the action.
Trying
Attempts to do the right thing but is afterward unsuccessful
Metaethics
Asks the question, “From where do our moral principles come?”
value-laden language
language that already assumes a moral judgment. This includes words like right and wrong, good and bad, valuable and unvalued, better and worse, important and unimportant, fair and unfair, shameful and honourable, and practical and impractical. For example, we cannot call something “wrong” without raising the question of what makes it wrong.
eugenics
the study of how to control human breeding, in the same way that humans have controlled the breeding of pigeons or dogs, to produce a so-called “master race.”
normative ethics
Asks, “What are these principles we use to arrive at moral judgments?” Are the consequences of an action what make the action right or wrong, or is it the intention of the action that determines this? On the other hand, are these principles focused on whether individual actions are right or wrong, or on producing good habits and character?
a priori
Means “from before.” If you know how many red, white, and blue gumballs are in the gum ball machine, this a priori knowledge can help you predict the color of the next ones to be dispensed. A priori understandings are the assumptions that come before the rest of the assessment, argument, or analysis.
empiricism
The idea that all learning comes from only experience and observations.
innate
an idea allegedly inborn in the human mind, as contrasted with those received or compiled from experience
a posteriori
Means, “from what is later.” It describes knowledge based solely on experience or personal observation.
epistemological dualism
Describes the way we distinguish knowledge from beliefs, facts from values, reason from faith, theory from application, thought from emotion, mind from body, objective from subjective, science from art. The observer and the object are separate, and the observer’s ideas of external objects are simply representations of these objects.
justified true belief
Knowledge can only be claimed if: a statement is true, you believe the statement and you have justification to support your belief.
coherence theory
The propositions that we hold to be true cannot be verified as corresponding to reality or nature, but only checked in terms of their overall agreement, or coherence, with all other propositions that we hold to be true.
epistemological realism
Knowledge bridges the gap between reality and perception
perception
We become aware of the world through our senses, such as sight, hearing, and touch. Philosophers often debate whether perception gives us an accurate understanding of reality or if it is influenced by our mind and subjective experiences.
correspondence theory
The theory that there is an external reality that humans are capable of mirroring accurately in their thoughts and knowledge.
epistemology
The study and theory of knowledge.
pragmatism
A pragmatist theory of truth, focuses on what works for us and what we can say is true for now (evolution), rather than seeking objective and absolute fact.
correct opinion
A belief or understanding that happens to be true but lacks a solid, rational justification or knowledge of why it is true. Unlike knowledge, which is grounded in reasoning or evidence, a correct opinion is accurate by chance or intuition rather than through deeper understanding
indirect realism
External things cause impressions on the senses, resulting in knowledge of the world. In this approach humans rely on sensing things, seeing the secondary appearances instead of the primary qualities. As a result, we have indirect contact with the external reality.
rationalism
Idea in philosophy that we can gain important knowledge about the world using reason and logical thinking, rather than relying only on our senses or experience. For example, rationalists believe that we can understand the concept of infinity through reasoning, even though we can’t physically experience it.
skepticism
The practice of questioning the reliability of our knowledge
