Transcript Ethical language - mrslh Philosophy & Ethics

Cognitive Theories of
Meta Ethics
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Is ‘abortion is wrong’ a fact, or opinion? Jot down
your thoughts on a mwb
Can ethical statements be proved true or false?
Ethical language
Lesson Objectives:
To be able to explain cognitivist approaches to ethical
language
To evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these
theories
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H/W: Independent Learning Booklet
Task: Consider the statement ‘Murder is wrong’?.
What does ‘wrong’ mean to the cognitivist?
Start to create a flow
diagram for Meta-Ethics
Meta Ethics
Add the following words: absolute, realist, subjective, anti-realist
Cognitivists
Believe that ethical language IS/IS NOT
meaningful
 Morality CAN/CANNOT be deduced by a process
of thought
 CAN/CANNOT be proved
 Is a REALIST/ANTI-REALIST position
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Naturalism
In a nutshell: moral truths are facts that can be
proved by examining the empirical evidence:
‘Mother Theresa was a good woman’
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‘Euthanasia is right’
1) What are the strengths and weaknesses of this
theory?
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Strengths:
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Can be verified empirically
Non-negotiable, objectively true for all
Fits with theories such as Utilitarianism and Moral
Law
Weaknesses:
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Rigid
Does not take account of cultural differences
Does not account for individuality
It is too simple – it cannot cope with conflicting
duties
Commits the naturalistic fallacy*
Still leaves us with an open ended question*
Criticism
Criticising Naturalism - The Naturalistic Fallacy
(Hume)
Moore, drawing on the Naturalistic Fallacy
developed by Hume criticised naturalism saying
you cannot derive an ‘ought’ from an ‘is’
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Is/Ought Fallacy
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P1) Torture causes pain
C) Torture is wrong
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The conclusion doesn’t follow from the premise
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P1) Torture causes pain
P2) Pain is wrong
C) Torture is wrong
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Create your own argument
Open question criticism
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X is pleasurable, but is it good?
Y has taken an innocent life, but is it bad?
Create your own argument
Intuitionism
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Desribe these pictures
What is
‘Yellow’?
Intuitionism
If I am asked what is good? My answer is that
good is good, and that is the end of the matter.
(Moore, Principia Ethica)
We know what yellow is and can recognise it
whenever it is seen, but we cannot actually
define yellow’.
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Developments of Intuitionism
H A Prichard
Two types of thinking, reason and intuition.
Reason looks at the facts, intuition decides what
to do.
He recognised that people have different morals,
and suggested this is because some people have
developed moral thinking further than others.
Where there is a conflict of obligations, he simply
says you have to decide which obligation is
greater.
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Developments of Intuitionism
Ross
Developed the ideas of Prichard.
Prima Facie duties (duties of first sight)
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Make a list of strengths and weaknesses of
intuitionism.
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Strengths:
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Morality is not dependent on the material world
It explains why different societies share moral values (such as murder
is wrong)
It does not require a God as the source of absolute ethical principles
It explains the idea that human beings seem to have an innate moral
sense
It allows for cultural/individual differences
Weaknesses:
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Was developed to avoid the naturalistic fallacy, but the introduction of
a non-empirical way of checking morality makes no more sense.
How can we be sure that our intuitions are correct?
How do we decide between our intuitions?
There is no link betweek what is right and what a person ought to do
J.L Mackie. Tells you what you should do, but does not expect you to
do it
Work on your flow
diagram..
Meta Ethics
Cognitive
Annotate outside your boxes using key words
Non-cognitive
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6 minutes
In your own words, outline and evaluate one
cognitivist theory.
Those working at A-B, consider intuitionism
Those working at C-B consider naturalism
Consider the following situations
Give an naturalist understanding of
the following statements:
An evil man
 A good bomb
 A wrong choice
 A bad holiday
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