1E- Intuitionism Flashcards
(12 cards)
What is intuitionism
Intuitionism- suggests intuition forms foundation of ethical knowledge
Intuitively recognise good/bad
Objective- as intuitionism universal
Moral truths known immediately through intuition
Is sui-generis- completely unique class of its own
Why are Moore and Prichard different?
moore and prichard argue what is known through intuition is different
Who does Prichard agree with
Agrees with empiricists in sense can’t use natural properties to show what’s good
What does Prichard say about duty
duty/ obligation is underivative (not brought about by other things)- can’t use general reasoning
Claims what we intuit is our sense of duty/ obligation- our ‘ought’- more deontological
Duty can’t be justified by external means
Duty to perform certain actions
What does Prichard say about 2 types of thinking
Obligation is an action we’re required to do in particular situation
Prichard gives example of repaying a debt- action of returning money and relationship between moral agent and person who lent the money- necessary for moral agent to know this money should be returned
General- look at facts of situation- empirical world to present argument
With general need to be aware of full story (Prichard calls these the preliminaries)
Moral - shows where moral obligation lies- assertion of duty
Cannot be derived from empirical evidence and reasoning
What does Prichard say about error
Error in intuition are just failures in gathering facts of the situation
When there’s conflicting duty it’s evident which one to follow- intuition will guide eg going/ not going to lesson
What does Prichard say about ‘ought’
Ought to do has no definition
Duty only found by being in a situation that requires obligation
What are the 3 challenges to intuitionism
no proof intuition exists
intuitive truths differ
can’t resolve conflicting intuition
explain the challenge of no proof intuition exists
Non-verifiable- meaningless
Undermines validity
Dancy- if trying to point out moral facts its hard to find these as its world describes by physics and biology
explain the challenge of intuitive truths differ
Some cannot access intuition
Adults of mature minds can still have differing intuition
Can be influenced by religion/culture eg age of consent
Explain the challenge of not resolving conflicting intuitions
What’s right/wrong eg sex before marriage
If differing how can you prove what’s right/wrong
Differences between scholars
Can’t resort to reasoning
Give Moore’s titles
-mature mind
-moral truths dicovered using mind intuitively
-objective moral values
-objective moral laws independant of humans
-innate and same for all
