Emotivism Flashcards
(6 cards)
1
Q
Main points
A
- Emotivism is a non cognitive, meta ethical theory
- non cognitivism says that ‘good’ ‘bad’ ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ have no actual existence and that morality is a matter of opinion
- When we say ‘murder is wrong’ we’re not saying that it’s immoral: we’re saying that we don’t like the idea
2
Q
Ayer
A
- he rejects Moores and Pritchards beliefs that people were born with intuition and everyone has a sense of good or bad
- his theory is in keeping with local positivism where all ethical language is considered meaningless - can’t be verified or falsified
- the theory of emotivism developed out of this
3
Q
Hooray Boo
A
- When I say murder is wrong I am saying ‘murder-booo’
- When I say giving to charity is good I am saying charity - hurrahhh’
- therefore, ethical statements are expressions of approval/disapproval, not assertions
4
Q
Stevenson
A
- he adds to ayers theory by saying that when we make moral statements we are not only expressing our emotional response to a situation but we are also trying to persuade others to have the same emotional response
For Stevenson language has two principle uses
1) The descriptive use - states a fact
2) They dynamic use - take the statement and use it to make others feel a certain way
5
Q
Strengths
A
- it explains why we all have different morals - it is our opinions
- It acknowledges that we won’t always agree on ethical issues
- History appears to have many examples of emotivist methods of expressing moral views e.g. Hitlers view s on Jewish people
6
Q
Weaknesses
A
- How can we judge between two peoples moral opinions
- Even when moral statements are carries by emotion it does not necessarily make them right
- Emotivism allows people to do whatever they wish as they are following their own opinions
