1.3 Meta Ethics - Emotivism

Question 1

EMOTIVISM IS…

Answer 1

Non-congnitive theory based on the idea that ethical proposition tell us about the feelings of the person making but nothing ‘really’ about the subject of that proposition.

Moral are only relative to our feelings and emotions thus cannot be verified through science and maths = so doesn’t tell us anything about the external world.

Question 2

A.J.AYER influenced by David Hume but thats not the point um wtf is his argument?

Answer 2

BOO-HURRAY ETHICS
☝️ Moral statements cannot be about meaningful facts because they are not verifiable. Ethical statements were about emotions

SOO statements like “ Homosexuality is moral” is like saying “boo homophobia” There is no more epistemological than “boo Arsenal”

Question 3

Emotivism is the view that…

1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. .

Answer 3

1. .Ethical propositions are not true or false
2. .. Ethical propositions are subjective and words such as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ are not traditional predicates as they do not describe the subject -(other words they express approval or disapproval)
3. .. Ethical proposition are NOT epistemological
4. … Ethical language is an expression of a persons individual emotions or feeling towards a subject
5. . Non-congitive

Question 4

C.L Stevenson developed A.J Ayer argument…

Answer 4

• developed Ayer’s argument by arguing that moral judgements are more than just expressions of emotions but are deeply held beliefs and attitudes and contain an element that seeks to influence others.

that moral language has an emotive element and a prescriptive element. When I say stealing is wrong I mean ‘I dislike stealing and encourage you to dislike it too

SOO Ayer saw disagreement as arguments based on preference whereas Stevenson saw them as arguments based on different beliefs

Question 5

OBJECTIONS TO EMOTIVISM
F _ _ _ _
M _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
R _ _ _ _ _ _

Answer 5

FOOT- Argues that moral statements can not be purely emotive as our emotions are rooted in our beliefs, reason and knowledge.
A change in our beliefs or knowledge will therefore affect our emotions and our ethics

MACINTYRE : challenges ‘emotive meaning’ – things that make moral statements a guide is not dependent on whether they are factual or descriptive but their importance rests on the people around them e.g. ‘bravery is good’ is meaningful because of the importance to the people in society.

• • He also argues that emotivism and prescriptivism fail to explain how moral views are formed in the first place.
• -Finally, he argues that emotivism calls it ‘opaque’ = cannot explain how we can distinguish the feelings and attitudes that are moral from other feelings and attitudes which we might have.

Rachels: wrong to remove reasoning from moral judgements. Rachels says moral judgements appeal to reason, they are not just expressions of feeling