Transcript Document
Meta Ethics The Last Module… eeeeek! Ethical Language • Before anyone can begin to establish what is good or bad moral behaviour, we need to establish if we can define these words. • The branch of moral philosophy which deals with this is meta-ethics – which asks what do words such as good/ bad/ right/ wrong actually mean. Meaning? • One main question within meta-ethics is “Can ethical language have any meaning?” • If we are unclear about the nature and meaning of words, how can we make authoritative claims about how people should act? Good/ Ought • The word good has many meanings and most of them are not used in a moral context: e.g. My computer is good – it fulfils the task I want it to. • In the same way ‘ought’ is used in different contexts: e.g. Teachers ‘ought’ to be kind to their students. Subjective/ Objective • A key factor in all of this is whether ethical dilemmas are subjective or objective. • Are they based on personal preference or on external facts? • If moral values are objective then they are true for everyone. • If moral values are subjective then there can legitimately be differences of opinion about how to act. Cognitive/ Non-Cognitive • If morality is objective then it is also cognitive – cognitive language deals with making propositions about things which can be known and therefore proved true or false = Propositional View. • If morality is subjective then it is also noncognitive – it deals with matters which are not simply resolved by proving they are true or false = Non-Propositional view. Naturalism • A key question when trying to reach a definition of morality etc. is the is-ought gap (or the Naturalistic Fallacy). • Naturalistic theories of ethics attempt to define good in terms of something that can be identified in the world of human nature – e.g. claiming that which makes us happy, fit or healthy is good. Naturalism • If we adopt this approach we effectively turn an ‘is’ into an ‘ought’. • G.E. Moore argued that it is not acceptable to identify morality with any other concept, such as happiness, because the comparison will always be inadequate. Naturalism • More importantly, if we say that something ‘is’ the case, we are making a descriptive statement of how things actually are. • David Hume argued that there was nothing in a descriptive statement that allows us to proceed from what people actually do (a factual statement) to what people ought to do (a value judgement). E.g. If I want to be a concert pianist I ought to practice – does not necessarily mean I will improve enough. Research • You need to know about three metaethical theories: - Emotivism - Intuitionism - Prescriptivism In groups you need to research these and make an A4 handout on them. Research Emotivism Key Thinker: G. E. Moore Intuitionism Key Thinker: A. J. Ayer Prescriptivism Key Thinker: R. M. Hare Include: Theory, Include: Theory, Include: Theory, strengths/weaknesses strengths/weaknesses strengths/weaknesses READ: READ: READ: Thompson: p129-131 Thompson: p127 Thompson: p131-132 Bowie: Chapter 7 Bowie: Chapter 6 Bowie: Chapter 7 Tyler+Reid (h/out) Tyler+Reid (h/out) Tyler+Reid (h/out) Additional Library Research Additional Library Research Additional Library Research