Ethical Thought Flashcards
(46 cards)
1
Q
Outline Divine Command Theory
A
- Meta ethical=meaning of moral language.
- God’s will=foundation of ethics.
- Morally good/bad because of God’s will/commands.
- God’s originator + regulator of morality.
- D.Z Phillips-‘to a Christian, to do ones duty is to do the will of God’.
- Abrahamic religions-Ten commandments, Abraham sacrifice Isaac/Ishmad, God commands Joshua to sack the city of Jericho.
- Divine commands give reason to be moral-please God or avoid punishment.
- Right + wrong=objective truths.
- Divine commands=requirements of God’s omnipotence-if morality didn’t originate from him but independent, omnipotence compromised.
- Objective metaphysical basis for morality-not based on human deliberation.
2
Q
Evaluate divine command theory
A
Strengths:
- Objective-moral absolutism-comes from divine: true certain + absolute-no room for doubt.
- Emphasis on importance of moral behaviour-accountable on final day of reckoning.
- Requirement of God’s omnipotence- Dostoevsky- ‘without God, everything is permitted’.
Weaknesses:
- Useless to atheists-w/o God no morality but disputed.
- Could make God’s commands arbitrary- if said opposite, morality would shift- ‘hate your neighbour, why worship!’- Leibniz- ‘why praise him for what he has done if he would be equally praiseworthy in doing the exact contrast?’
- Problem of abhorrent commands-even murder, rape etc could be morally good.
- Not concerned with effects e.g. child abuse has horrible effects but only matters if contrary to God’s commands.
- Focus on individual paths to heaven-not working for happiness of community.
- Different religions=different Gods=different commands.
- Emptiness problem- ‘God is Good’=’Gods command are in accordance with his commands’ if morally good means what God commanded-notion of divine moral goodness is lost.
- Ayer- ‘no morality can be founded on authority’- needs individualism.
3
Q
Outline the Euthyphro Dilemma
A
- Plato’s Euthyphro, asked Socrates to Euthyphro.
- ‘do the gods love good action because it is good, or is good action good because it is loved by the god’s?’
4
Q
Outline the Horn 1 of the Euthyphro dilemma
A
Moral Goodness is good because God commands it.
-Makes God’s commands arbitrary: morality not objective.
5
Q
Outline the Horn 2 of the Euthyphro Dilemma
A
- God’s omnipotence limited by something outside of his control.
- God’s actions could be judged in commanding Joshua as morally wrong.
- Denies god=necessary for morality.
- Kant- ‘even the holy one of the gospel must first be compared with our ideal of moral perfection before we can recognise him as such’.
6
Q
Outline William Lane Craig’s response to the Euthyphro Dilemma
A
- False dilemma.
- Third option- God’s own nature determines what is good.
- by nature compassionate + kind: commandments reflect nature.
- Not arbitrary but rooted in God himself.
7
Q
Outline the pluralism objection to the Divine Command Theory
A
- Many religions & produce same commands.
- Many interpretation is/in Christianity about existing commands e.g. Joshua mean.
- Christianity often reject commands passed down by Paul- man silent in church, submissive to men- culturally relative, gay.
- Islam- jihad>extremism.
8
Q
Outline Robert Adam’s Modified Divine Command
A
- Defines DCT as ‘the theory that wrongness of an action is contrary to God’s commands’.
- Can escape Euthyphro dilemma.
- Action wrong if ‘contrary to the commands of a loving god.
- e.g. if believed God commanded bad action e.g. murder would be wrong as not loving God.
- God’s character objectively never changes- perfect and ‘God therefore retains his supreme moral and metaphysical status’- Austin.
- Recognises atheists would refute this- only ‘a theory of what the word good means as used by some but not all people in ethical contexts’.
- Possible for god to command evil but unthinkable.
9
Q
Outline Virtue Ethics
A
- Agent-centred morality-asks ‘what sort of person ought I to be?’ rather than ‘how I ought to act?’
- Greek word for virtue ‘arete’ means excellence-virtuous person does things excellently all time.
- Starts by trying to define good rather than focus on behaviour.
- J.F Keenan- ‘who am I? Who ought I become? How do I get there?’.
10
Q
Outline Aristotle’s formation of Virtue ethics
A
- Nicomachean Ethics.
- ‘we are enquiring to become good since otherwise our enquiry would be of no use’- purpose of ethics.
- All humans want/desire should lead to happiness-end in itself=Eudaimonia.
- In order to reach must be virtuous people-‘we become builders by building’.
- Rational + social beings-wellbeing of groups>single member.
11
Q
How do you become virtuous?
A
3 ways:
- experience.
- repetition.
- observation.
- rather than thinking of action (could be bad motive).
- motive=most important as shapes us.
- role models-Jesus, Gandhi but criticism-Louden-in day to day lines can’t imagine role models, is it freedom if copy others.’
12
Q
What are the types of virtues?
A
- Intellectual e.g. wisdom, taught + developed through teaching.
- Moral e.g. courage, can’t be taught, developed through habit + experience.
- These combined allow happy + satisfying life.
- Reason=most valuable virtue-work out what is right>eudaimonia, includes action + responding.
- Hursthouse agrees with types-child genius may have intellectual virtues but not moral experience.
- Everyone can develop virtues>eudaimonia, not everyone will-gentleman philosophers.
- Today partly social factors.
13
Q
Outline Ethical Egoism
A
-Each person ought to pursue his or her own self-interest exclusively.
-Ayn Rand ‘The achievement of his own happiness is man’s highest moral purpose’.
-Only duty=what is best for ourselves.
-Agent-centred morality.
-opposed to altruism.
Psychological egoism=each person does in fact pursue their own interests.
-In leviathan, Thomas Hobbes argues humans are not naturally sociable- society as self preservation.
-we naturally act for ourselves.
-Actions: express dominant desires.
14
Q
Outline working out virtues (Golden mean)
A
- Ethical virtue=halfway between two extremes of excess and deficiency.
- e.g. courage mean between two feelings (fear + confidence) + action (courageous act).
- Too much or too little confidence>cowardice, too little fear too much confidence>rash, foolish choices.
- Middle ground=essential to eudaimonia-Golden mean.
- Practising>healthy, happy life.
15
Q
Outline the types of people as part of virtue ethics
A
- Depends on level to which able to use their nous (intellect) in accordance with reason.
- Virtuous-enjoy, doing right without moral dilemma.
- Continent-virtuous things mostly but conflict.
- Incontinent-some conflict but choses vicious
- Vicious- little value in virtue + doesn’t attempt.
- Acknowledged virtues may differ between societies-no ultimate absolute good beyond world-here.
- Different societies different aims, cultivate virtues that lead there.
- Eudaimonia of community.
16
Q
Outline Jesus’s role in virtue ethics
A
- Beatitudes-teaches transformation of inner person + presents Bs as virtues>reward.
- Eschatological meanings.
- ‘blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God’.
- ‘blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth’.
17
Q
Evaluate virtue ethics
A
Strengths:
- Individual rather than consequences or rules-personal.
- Anscombe-good for modern times as no religious basis.
- No obligations: agent centred.
Criticisms:
- Not a practical guide to moral behaviour:
- ‘Too much’ / ‘too little’ subjective-not on single scale.
- Difficult to consider all factors that go into virtuous decision e.g. right motive, right way etc.
- Anything could be interpreted as golden mean.
- BUT Aristotle encouraged use of own practical wisdom not blindly follow doctrine.
- But useless to those without practical wisdom.
- But Aristotle-must have some knowledge + can develop.
18
Q
Outline how virtue theory is culturally relative
A
- Different cultures places specific value on different virtues + different idea what constitutes.
- E.g. historically courage= fighting but now standing up for beliefs-too subjective.
- For some virtue the only virtue if universally as such.
- But relatively keeps up to date.
19
Q
How can virtue theory be used for immoral acts?
A
-Soldiers fighting unjust wars for oppressive regimes=courage but not morally good.
20
Q
What is meant by supererogation as part of virtue theory?
A
- Actions beyond call of duty-exceptional goodness.
- Rich westerner sells all possessions + relocates to developing country, giving money to poor.
- Most command.
- But fall under vice of excess.
21
Q
Outline Max Stirner’s ethical egoism
A
- ‘The Ego and Its own’.
- Self-interest=root cause of every action, even when apparently altruistic.
- ‘I am everything to myself and I do everything on my account’.
- Other people=means for self enjoyment- relation to each other=usefulness.
- Everyone unique: not mere part of society.
- Must be conscious egoists-see themselves as ‘the highest being’.
- Unconscious egoists: think they are serving a ‘higher being’-‘spooks’, ideas to which individuals sacrifice themselves to + by which are dominated.
- Includes capitalism, Incl. private property, division of labour, state + religion.
- State=greatest threat ‘I am free in no state’.
- If conscious egoists support a ‘higher being’ it is not because noble but for own benefit.
- ‘I am my own only when I am master of myself’-state claims sovereign over area.
- Urges uprising against all forms of authority through destruction of hierarchy-kept down by unwillingness to challenge authority.
- Self interest & greed- ‘narrow egoism’-capitalists- ‘self sacrificing as driven solely by profits, forced upon individual by society.
- Instead also consider long term gain.
22
Q
Outline the Union of Egoists as part of ethical egoism
A
- Alternative ways of organising society.
- As more people>egoists, conflict in society decrease.
- each individual recognises uniqueness of others>environment for cooperation-‘truces in the war of all against all’.
- Called these ‘truces’ ‘unions of egoists’-allow to ‘annihilate’ state + destroy private property.
- Based on free agreement.
- Mutual interests of individuals who would ‘care best for their welfare if they unite with others’.
- Exist to ensure ‘intercourse’ or ‘union’ maximising self-enjoyment, pleasure, freedom + individuality while no sacrifice.
- ‘Intercourse is mutuality’.
- Ensure do not dominate nor are dominated.
- Groups should be ‘owned’ by members, not the members by the group.
- Social nature of property-all property=’my property’.
- Ego set free here.
23
Q
Outline destruction of community of ethics as a challenge to Ethical egoism
A
- How can society function if only interested in self?
- Contradictory-same act right + wrong.
- Jack competing against Jill for job.
- EE=right for Jack to praise Jack’s qualities.
- Wrong for Jill to praise jack’s qualities.
- Praising Jack’s qualities right + wrong.
- can lead to total selfishness involves hating others.
- BUT sometimes selfish acts have good consequences e.g. if made a habit of harming others we could end up in jail etc: best interest.
24
Q
Outline Social injustices as a challenge to Ethical egoism
A
- Endorses wicked actions that benefit individual.
- E.g. to increase profits pharmacists filled in prescriptions for cancer patients using watered down drugs.
25
Outline ethical egoism as a form of bigotry
- Doesn't help solve conflicts of interest- Baier-B + K running for president.
- Since in B's interest to win also interest to murder K-not done duty as egoists until this.
- 'there would never be moral solutions of conflict of interest'.
- What difference between myself + others?-arbitrary, surely ethics should recognise needs of others.
26
Outline Naturalism
- Meta-ethics: meaning of terms such as 'good'.
- Nothing outside this world: no supernatural authority or morality.
- Goodness + right=natural properties located in natural world.
- E.g. 'Hitler committed suicide in 1945=non-moral factual (cognitive) statement as determined by evidence.
- Also evidence for 'Hitler was a bad person'-deceitful etc-universal as objectively look + evidence + conclude same thing.
- Can go from what 'is' and 'ought' to be e.g. evidence illustrates sharing good for society: ought to share.
- Ethical terms defined by non-ethical terms e.g. something is right (moral term) if it makes majority happy (non-moral term).
27
Outline Bradley on naturalism
- Book 'Ethical Studies' in essay 'My Station and It's Duties'.
- Advancement of utilitarianism/ethical hedonism + improvement on Kant's deontological ideas of duty.
- Liked naturalistic nature of utilitarianism but not subjectivity or lack of social unity-too egotistical.
- Liked Kant's idea of duty but too detached from ethical realm-'divorced from any way of becoming particular and concrete'.
- Isolated self as part of whole organism (society).
- 'Them as myself, myself as them'.
- Self only appreciated when understood within whole'.
28
Outline ethical sentences express propositions
- Ethical statements=cognitive, verifiable + meaningful as not just abstract but based in real world.
- Person's 'station' (duties + purpose) and empirical realm-duty not a person's 'station' (duties + purpose) in empirical realm-duty not a priori like Kant.
- Goal=realise self via observation.
- Knowledge of society confirms/denies claim of ethical propositions in relation to finding duty in life.
29
Outline meta-ethical statements seen in scientific terms (naturalism)
- Ethical decisions=part of self-realisation process i.e. engaging without out becoming part of world in which we live-finding 'station or duty.
- Interaction + engagement with society crucial.
- Acknowledges certain facts 'the fact that we often feel ourselves to be under some obligation.
- Foundation='moral consciousness united everyone'-goal of self-realisation=see 'the self as a whole' (society).
- Morality= act of self-expression to realise who we are + what behaving is.
- Realised through biological predisposition but also influenced by society (like Hegel)-influenced by family, city + state.
30
Outline Hume's challenge to naturalism
-Is-ought problem:
Hume-cannot move from facts (what 'is') to making ethical statements ('ought').
-Can't move from cognitive 'John is dead because he was murdered' to ethical statements e.g. 'you ought not to murder people because it is bad'.
-Only synthetic + analytic statements meaningful-moral statements meaningless: naturalism wrong.
31
Outline Rachel's counter challenge to Hume (naturalism)
Uses example by Max Black:
- Fischer wants to checkmate Botwinnik.
- Only way=move queen.
- Fischer ought to move the Queen.
- This valid-if premises true, conclusion true.
- Premises only concern matters of fact as if premises include info about relevant desires.
32
Outline Moore's naturalistic fallacy as a challenge to naturalism
Moore 'Principle Ethica'.
- Good indefinable.
- Ethical words like colours e.g. can't describe yellow to someone who doesn't know it.
- Ethical terms aren't complex-can't be broken down + expressed empirically='If I am asked 'what is good?' my answer is that good is good, and that is the end of the matter'.
33
Outline Moore's open ended question argument as a challenge to naturalism
- Moore- ethical terms can't be used as factual statements because any attempt at definition will limit idea of goodness/badness.
- Good + bad=open questions, can't be simply answered.
34
Outline the foundations of Intuitionism
- Basic morality cannot be explained by aspect of natural world but simply 'given' in our intuition.
- Rejects Kant duty comes from reason.
- Ethical non-naturalism.
- Moral principles 'there' in same way as numbers exist.
- Ethical terms=expressions of moral intuition.
- Ethical principles a priori + self-evident.
35
How does Moore define intuition
- Intuition=innate ability possessed by all agents.
- This recognises moral terms e.g. good + bad.
- Can't explain good-simple concept-sui generis.
- But like seeing yellow intuitively recognise.
- Good + bad express inner facts-not just opinions-cognitivist.
- Universal but takes mature mind to recognise correctly + consistently: not ineffable.
- Distinction between self-evident + intuition.
- Intuition=conscious mental state that recognises what is self evident.
36
What is intuitionism also known as
- 'Consequential intuitivism'.
| - Duty to perform actions cause more good than alternative intuition should tell you.
37
Warnock on intuitionism
-Close to utilitarianism they 'differ only about the question of how to assess the value of consequences'.
38
Outline Prichard and his rejection of Moore's intuitive consequentialism
- Instead moral intuition found in sense of obligation or duty when recognise what are 'ought' or 'should' do
- Duty=irreducible like Moore good + yellow.
- 'Ought' no definition: can't empirically study what 'ought to do' in situation.
- But still recognise this duty in dilemmas-due to innate intuition.
- One intuition indicates what 'ought to do' then becomes our 'duty' to do action.
- Recognised some more mature 'sense' of intuition than others.
39
Outline Ross on intuitionism
-Gradually awakened to this innate intuitive awareness.
40
Outline General + Moral reasoning in intuitionism
- General=using empirical evidence to present logical arguments, appreciation of certain facts 'preliminaries'.
- Moral-recognition of duty through intuition, includes general reasoning.
- If general overrides moral end up with form of consequentialism-distort duty.
- General reasoning can help check that intuitions right.
- Sometimes doubt intuition as seem to go against interests, but while can't prove can support with general.
- Can be called 'Descartes principle of Skepticism'.
- E.g. friend wrong, you cover up-general tells has stood by you, will get into trouble, but intuition says tell truth, via moral reasoning you tell truth.
41
Outline challenges to intuitionism
No proof for intuition:
- Mackie-are objective moral values that can be known + verified while independent.
- 'the argument from queerness'- all intuitionism presents=oddities + strange suggestions making theory 'queer'.
- 'A traversty of moral thinking'.
- Doesn't explain why intuition universally applicable-no intrinsic reason to accept as basis.
- Intuitions will rain, but forecasts not based on this.
- Sociology-moral intuition comes from social conditioning, which varies between cultures, not universal or innate.
Intuition truths differ widely:
- Clearly different intuition-speeding fine/not.
- Prichard + Moore-level of maturity of moral thinking.
- Legal belief that jury broadly similar understanding of moral conduct but study in UK-less than half thought dishonest for carer to persuade old person to change will in their favour-not innate.
- Virtue ethics-based on cultivation of virtues not intuition.
- Euthanasia/abortion-differ,
- No explanation of how maturity developed.
42
How do you resolve conflicting intuitions (intuitionism)
- Take monist view but variety.
- No plan b for conflict-criteria.
- Later intuitionists like Ross tried to address.
- 'Prima faci duties'-moral agents have to use intuition to choose one of duties incl. justice, gratitude + fidelity-some flexibility.
- Prichard general reasoning make more confident.
- Only 1 truth but distracted by consequences or empirical evidence.
43
Outline the foundations of emotivism (Hume's fork)
- Non-cognitive.
- Hume's fork-language either analytic or synthetic to be meaningful- Ayer + logical positivists.
- Emotivism based around belief that ethical statements=emotive responses, expressions of feeling/preference.
44
Outline Ayer on emotivism
-'Language, Truth and Logic'.
-Ethical judgements express feelings e.g. if say 'you acted wrongly in stealing money' I am simply expressing 'moral disapproval of it'- "It is as if I had said 'you stole that money' in a peculiar tone of horror'.
-Intuitions simply feelings of approval/disapproval.
-Feelings not cognitions of value + value doesn't exist independently of feelings.
-Realist-moral values come from social/cultural conditioning.
-Non-naturalist because no moral facts, just description of situation.
-Moral statement 'adultery is wrong' not true in itself (analytic).
Boo-hurrah theory:
-Feelings of approval/disapproval, 'lying is wrong'='boo' to lying-negative feeling.
-Not verifiable (synthetic).
-Meaningless-'unanalysable'.
-Accepts moral disagreements occur as emotions not universal or innate.
-'Ethical terms are calculated to arouse feeling...opinion but also encouraging others to feel the same'-'calculated to provoke'.
45
Outline C L Stevenson on emotivism
- Emotivism not subjectivism.
- Meaningful conversations still take place as subjective opinions often based on objective fact-firm, justifiable beliefs about world.
- Disagreed with verification principle-moral language works partly on scientific terms but not firmly.
- 'good'=persuasive definition.
- 'A statement has an emotive meaning if it is intended to produce a response in the person who hears it'.
46
Outline the support and challenges to emotivism
No basic moral principles established:
-Emotivism would dismiss normative ethics e.g. utilitarianism as accepts all moral statements=meaningless incl. sec precepts etc.
-Could lead to antinomianism/anarchy as no guidelines.
-Could disapprove/approve of anything but should not count as morality-instead about virtues (Aristotle), pleasure (Mill + Bentham) etc.
-But objection doesn't prove there are facts about morality only common underlying human desire which creates morality.
No moral progress:
-If no moral reality, then moral beliefs or feeling can't become better/worse-no moral progress for individuals or societies.
-But society changed-slavery: emotivism flawed.
Ethical debate becomes pointless:
-Warnock-emotivism=too generalised as doesn't distinguish between ethical + non-ethical statements.
-Holocaust can't be reduced to personal feelings-universal wrongness.
-Mackie-big difference 'I don't like curries' + 'I don't like genocide' but emotivism doesn't distinguish.
+But Ayer makes clear doesn't intend to trivialise.
+Him + Stevenson give ethical statements more significance because intended to persuade.
+Can become more consistent-more willing to universalise feelings- e.g. Peter Singer argues if consistent with feelings about preventing suffering, wouldn't eat meat-this would be progress.
+Also more coherent-conflicting moral feelings e.g. abortion-by working out implications of our views can become more coherent.
