META ETHICS

Breif summary of the OCR Ethics subtopic: Meta Ethics. 

- The main theories

- Main thinkers 

- Brif description

- Key quotations

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  • META ETHICS
    • Non-Cognitivist
      • Moral statements are NOT facts, but do perform some other function. You cannot know what good is because you cannot prove a moral statement.
      • EMOTIVISM
        • A.J.AYER When we make morl decisions or statements we are expressing our own emotions and feelings in the issue. Eg. Boo! abortion and Hurrah! bacon.
          • C.L. STEVENSON These extreme emotions we experience when faced with moral issues are not arbitrary - they are based on our experiences of the world and our beliefs.
        • PERSCRIPIVISM
          • HARE. Moral statements are not only expressing our feelings but encourage others to share our attitudes. We prescribe our opinions to our listeners
    • Cognitivist
      • Moral statements are facts, we can know if something is good because you can prove moral statements true or false.
      • ETHICAL NATURALISM
        • It is possible to establish moral facts through the use of evidence - this is drawn from the senses and a conclusion is made. Eg. Hedonic Calculus.
        • NATURALISTIC FALLACY
          • G.E.MOORE. (Based on Hume). Naturalism is mistaken. You cannot verify a moral statement with sense experience, because that is subjective.
            • ''An ought cannot be derived from an is.''
          • INTUITION
            • MOORE also belived that it is impossible to describe or define 'goodness'. But... he thought it was possible to make judegments about what good is and intuit what good is. Eg. Yellow.
              • ''If I am asked what good is then my answer is: good is good and that is the end of the matter.''

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