Meta Ethics

Question 1

What is the problem of the word good

Answer 1

• it has many meanings
• I can use the word good to describe a meal -> I’m not judging it’s moral quality rather I’m saying it causes me pleasure

Question 2

Who does the moral use of good on,y apply to

Answer 2

-Only applies to human actions and intentions as when I use the word good to describe a human by saying “she is good” -> I am making a judgement about their actions but also their intentions

Question 3

Can the word good every be factual (cathedral)

Answer 3

• If I say St Paul’s cathedral has 528 steps to climb until you are at the golden library -> this can be tested and therefore proven as a fact
  HOWEVER
  but can the good be factual as someone can disagree with me and my methods used to define the good
  Is the food a factual thing or just merely a private opinion

Question 4

What is the fundamental problem

Answer 4

Not that there isn’t any certainty on how the good can be defined rather that there is no agreement on how the question can be resolved

Question 5

What is meta ethics

Answer 5

The study of the meaning and justification of moral ideas -> analysis g underlying concepts

Question 6

What is the fact/value , is/ought problem

Answer 6

The fact/value problem is a problem of logic which believes that we cannot come to a conclusion on what we ought to do as from facts of the case

Question 7

What did Hume argue for the fact ought problem and what does he believe about moral judgements

Answer 7

Hume proposed the fact/value problem as he believed in moral discourse, authors stated a fact about something like human nature but then jump to conclusions how we should behave -> however there is no. Justification for this leap
- hume argues that moral judgements of what is good and bad is beyond the possinitly of factual description of the world and human reason

Question 8

What is an attractive response to the fact ought problem

Answer 8

Naturalism

Question 9

What is naturalism

Answer 9

Naturalism argues that there is something factual about goodness as it argues that the good is a quality which is inherent in nature making it a natural fact

Question 10

What is an example of naturalism

Answer 10

• Plato’s form of the goods

Question 11

How is the Plato form of the good naturalistic

Answer 11

• tries to argue that the good is something spiritual and singular through the form of the goods
• form of the good is argued to have greater reality than the objects in our perception
• Plato argues that the form is necessary as it allows us to know what the good is and keep our perception grounded
• it argues that the good is a natural fact but a fact that is something outside of our world of everyday experiences

Question 12

What is another form of naturalism (Bentham)

Answer 12

Hedonism

Question 13

What is hedonism

Answer 13

A form of naturalism which believes that pleasure, a naturally occurring phenomenon, is the good
- believes that good and pleasure are synonyms
This seems like a sensible approach as we naturally seek pleasure and avoid pain

Question 14

What is a problem with hedonism

Answer 14

Pleasure as the good is not objective as our pleasures change over time
- what I found pleasurable as a kid like cartoons is not pleasureable as an adult
- it is difficult to name something which is pleasurable for everyone, everywhere at all times

Question 15

What did Epicurus believe

Answer 15

• Epicurus believed that if pleasure is the good then unpleasant is the evil
• due to this he believed we should only pursue true pleasures which cannot contain any mixture of evil
• food and alcohol is not a. True pleasure as it can lead to overindulgence which can lead to pain
• Epicurus believed we should lead simple lives

Question 16

Who is exodus and what did Aristotle say about him and what does it show about hedonism

Answer 16

• Exodus was a student of Plato and a hedonist
• Aristotle wrote about him in his book nicomanchean ethics and said “he held his views not because he is a pleasure lover but because true pleasure really is the good
• this is important as it shows a important element of the Hendonist claim
• hedonists due to see pleasure as good but rather they believe pleasure is the good

Question 17

What did Aristotle argue about pleasure tho in his book

Answer 17

• he argued not that pleasure isn’t good but that pleasure isn’t the good
• he argues what we seek is a life of fulfilling activity
• think about an activity which others find pleasurable but u don’t -> it doesn’t matter hwo happy they are the activity just doesn’t appeal to you
• acitivities u do want to do are pleasurable however it is the activities which appeal not the okeasure -> the pleasure is just a reinforcer

Question 18

What is another problem Aristotle picks up

Answer 18

• That pleasure is also hard to quantify
• we do not calculate pleasure or do an activity as it seems to provide more pleasure

Question 19

What is the link between naturalism and absolutism

Answer 19

If we adopt naturalism as an meta ethical theory, we are then committing ourselves to absolutism in our normative ethical theories on how we should behave.
- this is because if the good is fixed, e.g pleasure, we should do everything to pursue that fixed good and we have a duty to pursue it

• utilitarians believe this as of pleausre is the good, it is the good for everyone and should be maximised -> utilitarian view

Question 20

How can naturalism be relativist

Answer 20

Naturalism can also be perceived as relativist quite easily
- if we believe the good is “that is what is approved of in my society” -> this would make what society believes a natural fact
- due to this there is no absolute of what the good is as all are natural facts

Question 21

Expalin this relativism with the example of cannibalism

Answer 21

If I live in a society where cannibalism is accepted -> cannibalism is the good as it is a natural fact of the society
However in a non cannibalism society it is not approved so it is not the good

Question 22

What is an example of a relativist naturalistic theory

Answer 22

Cultural relativism as it believes what the society believes in as a fact

Question 23

Who objected to the idea of naturalism

Answer 23

G.E Moore in his work principia ethica where he identified the naturalistic fallacy
- naturalistic fallacy is the error of assuming the good is identical to some natural quality such as pleasure

Question 24

What is naturalistic fallacy

Answer 24

The error of assuming the good is identical to some natural quality such a pleasure

Question 25

How does moore dispute hedonism

Answer 25

• He uses the open question argument
• he challenged the hedonistic belief that because pleasure is the good, the words good and pleasure are interchangeable
• if we take the question “bead baiting is pleasant but is it good” -> we are asking a legit question
  But If we change the question to “bear baiting is good, but is it good” -> makes no sense so how are they interchangeable
• Aristotle and Plato also supported this idea as they argued there can be a bad pleasure but the idea of a bad good is impossible

Moore concludes that good cannot be a natural quality

Question 26

What is intuitionism

Answer 26

• Intuitionism is the idea that the good is real but not a natural fact and is grasped by the intuition of the mind
• we just know what the good is

Question 27

Who supported the idea of intuitionism

Answer 27

Moore , w.d Ross

Question 28

What analogy is used to describe the good in intuitionism

Answer 28

The idea of the colour yellow
- once we see the colour yellow we have great certainty that it is hello but there is not one thing which is yellow -> it is an undeniable feature of the world meaning we know it when we see it

Question 29

Who was Moore influenced by and which concept

Answer 29

Moore was influenced by franc brentano and his idea of intentionality
- intentionality is the idea that our Brian’s are not neutral observers of the world -> we naturally perceived the world in terms of love and hate -> seeing the world in terms of good and bad is what the mind naturally does

Question 30

Quote moore on intuitionism

Answer 30

“ when we know a thing is good in itself”

Question 31

Does Moore believe that the good is subjective or objective

Answer 31

He believes it is objective -> the good is not good because I say so, the good is there to be perceived -> if our minds are rightly ordered we will perceive the good

Question 32

What is emotivism

Answer 32

Emotivism is a meta ethic proposed by logical positivist which believes ethical statements are meaningless as they have no factual justification

Question 33

Who is an advocate for the emotivism view

Answer 33

Aj Ayer

Question 34

What is the major claim fo emotivists

Answer 34

That ethical statementssimply evince emotions and are therefore meaningless

Question 35

What idea illustrates the claim that statements simple evicme emotions

Answer 35

Killing - boo theory by winston Barney’s

Question 36

What does the killing boo theory propose

Answer 36

• The killing boo theory proposes when we give an ethical statement such as “murder is wrong” all we are simply saying is boo to Kurd
• when we say an ethical statement such as “charity is good” all we are really saying is hurrah to charity

Question 37

What do logical positivists think about discussion about what is right

Answer 37

The discussion is pointless as there is no factual meaning behind ethical staments

Question 38

What is a flaw of emotivism (confusion)

Answer 38

• can be argued to set the bar too high as it confuses between proving something and giving reasons to why you think something is right
• there are many moral dilemmas which I cannot prove why it is right but give reasons why I think it’s right
• murder is wrong due to the pain it causes pain
• emotivism can be too quick to deem something as meaningless without considering the valid reasons for believing something -> fucking bar is bare High