Quiz 1 Flashcards
What is an objective (realist) perspective?
“judgey”
believe that morality exists independent of our individual judgements
“there is right and wrong, and our opinion of it doesn’t change it”
example: hardcore religions (a higher power makes the judgement)
What is a subjective perspective?
a subset of the non-realist perspective
believe that morality is indexed by the individual
only you can make judgements about yourself
What is a relativist perspective?
“right and wrong are determined by CONTEXT”
ie) culture, politics, religion
only an in-group can make judgements or evaluations about their own members
How is morality distinct from law?
both have norms that are intended to guide conduct
but
legality is made legitimate by the government/constitution
morality is legitmated by God/rationality/society
How is morality distinct from religion?
most religions have morality built into them but not all moral theories are based in religion
explain obligatory action
an action that is required. you receive no praise when it is done, an blame if not done
DUTY
going to practice
explain permissible action
okay to do, but no blame or praise
not going to an optional practice
explain supererogatory action
really good to do, praise if dont, no blame if not done
volunteering every day at a soup kitchen
what is is a moral theory?
a moral theory is just any framework used to morally evaluate action
what is argumentation
can be formal or informal, ways to justify things
how do we structure arguments?
informal argumentation is done using paragraphs and dialogue
formal arguments are structured using premises and ending with a conclusion
how do we decide if an argument is valid?
an argument is valid if the conclusion follows from the premise(s) which make the conclusion true
how do we decide if an argument is sound?
an argument is sound if it is valid and if all the premises are true
what are counterexamples used for (what are other forms of critiquing an argument?)
a counterexample is a reason against a premise or piece of evidence
another way to critique an argument would be to find an inconsistency in a persons beliefs or argument
a bad argument would be just disagreeing or an ad hominem argument ie saying youre stupid
what is the difference between descriptive and normative arguments?
descriptive- claims to tell us something about the world and is based in fac, empirical, and observable things
normative- makes claims about “what is good/how things should be.” Contain “ought” statements and value judgements
formal normative arguments must have a normative conclusion and at least one normative premise
what is empiricism? What is rationalism?
both are justifications of judgements:
empiricism: begins from lived experience to figure out what people value (more consequence driven)
rationalism: begin from thought (values are reached through reflection)
**this is what socrates is doing
what is an argument from authority?
justification is made based on the power a person possesses or their positionality
what is agent centered vs. act centered theories?
act centered: focuses on actions (what is accomplished or what are the consequences?
agent centered: focuses on the person, their intention, type of person they are, etc.
examples of each:
act centered: utilitarianism
agent centered: virtue/character ethics
what is egoism?
the idea that people should act in a way that benefits their own self interest
what is intuition and the role of intuition?
**I think:
it goes against a lot of utilitarianism as sometimes our intuitions to do good or do things do align with what produces the most utility but we do them anyways
what are platos overall aims in the euthyphro? Hat is the structure?
Euthyphro is a high priest and a teacher to socrates. Euthyphro is attempting to try his father for murder and justify his actions as being pious. Socrates then wants Euthyphro to explain what piety really is and they debate this using elenchus.
But also they are trying to debate a moral theory through debate and conversation and then redebating
the euthyphro is structured using stephanus numbers which allows us to number lines
what is the socratic method and what is the other word it is called?
elenchus
Follows the basic structure of:
- definition
- critique
- redefinition
- critique
what is the euthyphro dilemma?
“is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?”
2 horns of the dilemma:
- if being loved by god makes something good then goodness seems arbitrary (random/without reason)
- if things are good independently of what god thinks, then god isn’t omnipotent (why do we need god then)
what is the divine command theory?
the theory that all morality and commands are derived from what god wants
what is the big take home message of the euthyphro?
Posed the question of where morality gets legitimacy and how we evaluate morality
what are the 4 general features of utilitarianism?
- consequentialist - actions should be evaluated based solely on results/consequences
- impartial - conideres all people equally
- universal - applied to everyone equally and in the same way (everyone should follow)
- hedonistic: focuses on pleasures/pains as a means of wellbeing
what is pleasure/happiness as it relates to utilitarianism?
is utility,, said that every utilitarian action should be aimed at maximizing pleasure
utilitarian’s believe that pleasure is the sole end
what are the different types of utilitarian pleasure?
physical- bentham focused
intellectual- mill (believed intellectual pleasures>physical)
what are the objections to utilitarianism?
- renders men cold and unsympathising (mill) the moral feeling and concern for others don’t matter under utilitarianism
- determining consequences. the foreseeable/projected vs. actual-how can we possibly predict the future
what is hedonic calculus?
5 general steps:
1. determine a scale (arbitrary just needs to be consistent)
2. determine all possible choices/outcome
3. determine all who are impacted by this decision
4. decide how much utility/disutility each stakeholder will experience
5. add it up: whatever has greater utility is the right act (you must do that)
what is the main point of “the ones who walk away from omelas”?
highlights the issues with utlitarianism, because the child has to suffer and everyone knows and hates it, but they’re society gets to be amazing because the kid is suffering
Implementation of utilitarianism
look on sheet
what are the three basic theories of virtue ethics?
arete (virtue): trait of character or human excellence (being a certain way not merely acting)
phronesis (practical wisdom): knowing how to properly exercise virtue
eudiamonia (flourishing/happiness/well-being): the complete good at which we aim
what is the definition of virtue?
a character trait that exhibits moral excellence
what is a reason?
an answer to a why question, provides an explanation
good reasons-should seem acceptable to others
bas reasons- have no relation and dont make the sense for the behavior
explain impermissible action
an action that is not allowed. blame if done, no praise if not done
getting into a fight/committing violence
what are the two different types of utilitarianism?
rule utilitarianism and act utilitarianism
act utilitarianism
the premise that each individual action should be decided based on what produced the most utility
ex. killing one person and harvesting their organs is the correct decision because you can save 6 people over just 1
pros:
1. you are always guaranteed to have the most utility
2. it is context sensitive
3. it gives objectively true answers
cons:
1. it is very demanding
2.it is too impartial
3. it collapses social trust
4. it counters our intuitions
rule utilitarianism
we should act according to the rule that is most likely to maximize pleasure/utility (find the correct rule)
ex.) do not steal, because stealing causes harm to others
pros:
1. less impartial than act (we can have rules that prioritize people close to us)
2. less demanding (it doesn’t require us to be constantly be thinking about utility, we only have to focus on the rule)
3. enables social trust ( you can predict actions)
cons:
1. too rule based (doesn’t leave room for context, and can sometimes promote disutility situationally)
2. any exceptions collapses into act utilitarianism
3. still fails to account for moral ideas (the other stuff that matters to us)
general objections to utilitarianism
-it renders men cold and unsympathizing, where moral feeling and concern for others doesn’t matter
-it is hard to determine consequences if you can’t predict the future
how do you know that baby you saved would grow up to be hitler, would saving the baby then be the wrong choice
“the ones who walk away from omelas”
plot: there is this utopia that exists only on the premise that this little boy is locked away and tortured. Some people decide to leave the utopia due to this.
interpreted as a critique to utilitarianism
main takeaway: is it right to live in a world that is amazing at the expense of the wellbeing of another?
practice the implementation chart:
what are the 3 parts it includes?
- criterion of judgement (what are we judging)
- procedure/application (How do we judge the action)
- Moral motivation (why do the action)
3 basic parts of character ethics:
- arete (virtue): a trait of character or human excellence “a certain way of being, not merely acting”
- phronesis (practical wisdom): knowing how to properly exercise virtue
- eudaimonia (flourishing/happiness/well-being): the “complete” good at which we all aim
what are Menzi’s parts of the self?
heart: aka the mind (similar to greek psyche)
qi: force/substance/energy (physicality)
will (zhi); integrity/ambition,, links the mind to activity
what is an unperturbed heart?
treating everyone with sameness and acting brave/having courage
