Intuitionism

Intro

Ethical terms cannot be defined
Properties ascribed to them such as good and ought can be defined in non ethical terms
there are different uses for the word good therefore it is difficult to define
therefore ethical statements are difficult to debate

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all things which are good are also something else
all things which are yellow produce a certain light
ethics aims at discovering what are those other properties belonging to all things whichare good
too many philosophers thought that naming objects good was defining good
they were simply not other but abslutely and entirely the same in goodness

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We can define good no more successfully than yellow
We define yellow by naming things which are yellow
Even if we state where yellow lies on the electromagnetic spectrum we are not defining the meaning of yellow
Yellow is a self evident objective reality as is good
certain things are percieved as good but not because man reasons it to be so from reference to natural or empirical observation
good is not observed or an opinion but something we ascertain through reason
goodness resists definition because people all have different moral opinions without logical contradiction
remarkable similarity in the ways in which we reach moral conclusions
thre must be a general consensus of intuition
inner sense which directs humans to know right or wrong
good is good

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Good is an indefiniable property no more definable than yellow
Good cannot be identified as a natural property such as physical pleasure (naturalistic fallacy)
Objective realities resist definition
If definition is attempted it results in the OQA
Good is not a matter of opinon (ethical naturalism) as we have an inner faculty called the intuition which directs us to recognise self evident good in the same way we recognise yellow
therefore you may know good but you cannot define good

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Allows for self evident objective realities - if it is possible for yellow to be a SEOR then goodness and justice can be too
Points to the considerable common consensus on moral issues such as the value of human life- there is a mass moral consensus on values such as freedom, fairness and vulnerable
While we may recognise the wrong of some actions it can be hard to specify why they are wrong. We interpret through moral sense not a list of definitions. Allows moral common sense to prevail
Despire not being able to identify a physical intuition, there is no organ for art either but we recognise artistic value

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People intuit to different conclusions and there is no obvious way to resolve their diffrences. If good, justice and beauty are SEOR why are there moral disagreements
Intuition may be considered meaningless as it is non verifiable. Asserting that humans have an intuition faculty is a leap of faith.

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