Quiz 2 Flashcards
Moral realism
assumes correspondence theory of truth
our true statements correspond to an objective reality
reasons to embrace moral realism
the law of the excluded middle: two contradictory statements can’t both be true
people change their mind –> come to recognize the truth whereas before they were deceived
what is the law of the excluded middle?
the law of the excluded middle: two contradictory statements can’t both be true
why was there a shift away from moral realism?
response to Holocaust, attempt to understand evil if you aren’t a moral realist
Arendt– dialectical understanding
Thesis (A) and antithesis (B) are fundamentally opposite, and synthesis (C) leads to reconcilliation
I (A) and them (B) are fundamentally opposite but need to be reconciled into a sense of “we” (C) to create collective identity
to be a thinking self is to be a member of the human community (natural law of human identity is to be rational, thinking self)
If you harm another you are hurting yourself– collective sense of identity– can’t commit genocide
What did Arendt mean by “the banality of evil”
to be evil is to deviate/failure to uphold the thinking self
Andrew Delblanco
how do we account for evil without relying on an outward evil force?
Vascilates between subjective/objective views of evil
historical perspective
we have a hard time talking about evil because of post-modern sensibility
Nihlism– what is it?
lack of realism
nothing is right or wrong
what branch of philosophy did Nietzsche belong to
nihlism
what did nietzsche believe
“god is dead” –> movement away from moral realism
critiqued christian morality
nietzsche’s first treatise
our understanding of morality (put others first) derives from slave revolt --> sees christian morality as a revolt by the underclass against the powerful (those who establish what's right/nobilitu) who previously defined right as power, welath, status (things the upper class had and lower class didn't) how nietzche explains difference between good and evil etumologically good = noble
what is the etymology of good
noble
n’s second treatise
difference between right and wrong, origin of guilt/philologist (philosophy + how language has changed historically)
guild = debt in German
how does guild tit into morality?
Historically– nomadic communitiies
survive by huting
being in the wrong = not doing what you were supposed to do to hold up obligations to community –> not paying debt to community
nomadics valued aggression, mobility, defense, hunting
fail to “pay debt” to community –> banishment
society becomes agrarian, inclusive, larger, aggression becomes a destructive force
larger community –> be in wrong no longer requires banishment but still has to be punished, aggression is now internalized without external outlet, shift to psychological instead of psysical expression, people “in the wrong” beat themselves up emotionally through guilt
how nietzche explains right and wrong
n’s 3rd treatise
ascetic ideal
self deprivation
the maximization of tendency to be realy hard on ourselves
non - cognitivism
form of nihlism
moral judgments/statements can’t be either true or false, purely personal/subjective
moral statements jsut express individual feelings
critics of non-cognitivism
language is multifaceted/has many functions on an individual basis
moral objectivism
there is right and wrong, but truth is based on community understanding
moral subjectivism
there is truth, but it’s true/right/wrong on an individual basis
problems with m objectivism/subjectivism
MO
only way to decide morality is to take an opinion poll– is this good?
you can’t have a debate or dialogue about morals
breakdown in communication
both
no way to resolve conflict if everyone is right
some argue it fosters tolerence but it doesn’t always work out that way
common sense morality
we should not merely not harm others, but help others to the extent that you yourself are not harmed
empathy is fundamental tennent of morality
