Meta Ethics

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  • Created by: Phoebe
  • Created on: 22-10-13 20:10
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  • Meta-Ethics
    • Cognitive
      • Intuitionism
        • Realism
          • Concepts have a value within themselves that are independant of the human mind, opinions or feelings
        • Belief that Ethical propositions are true or false based on intuition (gut feeling)
        • W.D. Ross (1877-1971) G.E. Moore (1873-1958)
          • "we know that what yellow is... but we cannot actually define yellow" G.E. Moore Principia Ethica
        • 'Good ' or 'Bad' are properties we cannot define But we intuitively know what they mean
          • We know Murder is Wrong without the experience
          • We done need to analyse events for example 'you shall not kill' does not reference actual murders
            • Intuitionism is a rationally analysed form of belief derived from the self evidence of moral truths
              • We know Murder is Wrong without the experience
        • Foundation Moral Principles
          • W.D. Ross - Prima facie
            • 6. Promise keeping
            • 4. Justice
            • 7. Self improvement
            • 2. Failthfulness
            • 5. Non- Maleficence
            • 1. Beneficence
            • 3. Gratitude
            • Intuitionists would argue these are self evident but a criticism would be that core values of a gut feeling cannot be found as it is based in instinct
              • A recent academic study on a Jury demonstrated that peoples moral concepts were very different suggesting there aren't intrinsic moral values
        • Strengths
          • It does not require God
          • Explains why different societies share moral values
        • Weakness
          • Can Intuition be trusted
          • Not everybody has the same level of intuition
          • There is no link between instinctively knowing what to do and doing the right thing - J.L. Mackey
          • It cannot be the basis of Ethics - nothing wrong with contribution
          • Just as there are similarities there are vast differences between societies nd similarities and such can be explained through the study of History rather than intuition
      • Ethical Naturalism
        • Realism
          • Concepts have a value within themselves that are independant of the human mind, opinions or feelings
        • Moral laws exist and can only be experienced and understood through analysis of the natural world or human nature
          • Utilitarianism
            • 'Murder is wrong' because it prevents happiness and promotes pain
          • Natural Law
            • 'Murder is Wrong' as it is against the primary precepts and prevents a natural purpose being fulfilled
          • Once verified by Nature, Moral statements are objectively true
          • David Hume
            • 'Murder is Wrong' because self-preservation is a key feature in human nature
              • For Hume it becomes a universal moral law subject only to the meaning or 'murder'
        • Both Cognitivists and Non-Cognitivists oppose Ethical naturalism making it a weak theory
          • Non- Cognitivists use the Naturalistic Fallacy as a weakness
            • The naturalistic Fallacy was originated from Hume and used to attack his own theory
              • Illogical to go from Is to Ought
              • David Hume
                • 'Murder is Wrong' because self-preservation is a key feature in human nature
                  • For Hume it becomes a universal moral law subject only to the meaning or 'murder'
          • Non-Cognitivists assert that it is impossible to take moral laws from nature or the workings of the universe as Moral laws are concepts where as the universe is Physical
            • Non- Cognitivists use the Naturalistic Fallacy as a weakness
              • The naturalistic Fallacy was originated from Hume and used to attack his own theory
                • Illogical to go from Is to Ought
          • Cognitivists argue it is impossible to reduce the concept of Good to a simple law - thus rejecting Natural Law as it is a single, empirical basis to morality
      • Moral Truths Exist and Ethical Statements can be verified Empirically
    • Non-Cognitive
      • Prescriptivism
        • Anti-Realism
          • Rejection of Realist that things have an intrinsic value independent of the mind
        • Richard Hare
        • AN ethical system that prescribes what people should do actin like a doctors prescription
          • When somebody states you shall not murder they have to be able to universalize this principle
        • Follows the Golden rule
        • Four Basic ideas
          • Ethical action has to be consistent
            • People constantley change their moral ground
            • What about children?
          • Moral belief must be harmonious
            • One mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter
          • A moral expression has to fulfill what is morally required
            • The nazis idea of what is morally required was wrong
          • The moral agent cannot be hypocritical
        • One step further than emotivism in that we should use these ethical expressions to direct how we act
      • Emotivism
        • Anti-Realism
          • Rejection of Realist that things have an intrinsic value independent of the mind
        • Developed out of Logical Positivism - The Vienna Circle
          • The Verification Principle A.J. Ayer
          • Goodness cannot be verified and therefore ethical statements are meaningless
            • The Verification Principle A.J. Ayer
            • However the existance of Morals couldnt be denied
              • As a solution A.J. Ayer created an unverifiable nature of moral language EMOTIVISM
                • The idea that Moral Judgments are the expression of a persons feelings rather than statements of fact
                  • The claim murder is wrong is just an expression of i dont like murder
                    • It cannot be reduced to an analytic or synthetic statement
        • Charles Stevenson 'Ethics and Language' (1908-1979)
          • Moral statements are more than an expression of feeling they are also persuasive
            • Stealing is wrong = you shouldn't steal
        • Strengths
          • A scientific approach to language
          • stops ethicists from claiming ethical statements are self evident
          • Stresses autonomy and individual feelings and thought
        • Weaknesses
          • Emotions cannot always be trusted
          • Many different emotions and irrational feelings
          • Just because they express emotions Moral statements do not become Moral
          • There is no reason for other people to agree with statements
          • There is more to language than verifiability
      • Moral Truths are Relative - Of personal choice and do not exist separate from human experience
    • What is meant by Morality?

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