Intuitionism

Question 1

Background

Answer 1

• ‘Ethical Non-Naturalism’
• Does not believe ethical propositions can be verified from empirical study of natural world

Question 2

Overview - Moore

Answer 2

• MAs use ethical language (‘good’, ‘bad’) as expressions of their moral intuition
• MAs naturally possess moral intuition, intuitively recognises ‘good’ and ‘bad’
• Innate ability possessed by all MAs
• Does not know why we have it/intricate details of how it works
• “I imply nothing whatever as the manner or origin of our cognition of them”
• Not human reasoning rationally working out ‘good’ and ‘bad’

Question 3

What is good - Moore

Answer 3

• ‘Good’ does not mean intuitively recognise good actions/consequences
• Intuitively recognise intrinsic good (good within themselves)
• “It is necessary to consider things such that, if they existed in absolute isolation, we should yet judge their existence to be good” - Moore
• Friendship and aesthetic beauty
• Other ‘goods’ intuition recognises, not 100% intrinsically good, mixed due to complexity of natural world
• Intuitively recognise certain intrinsic evils

Question 4

Objective and Universal

Answer 4

• Human innate moral intuition same in all people
• Universal -> applies same to all people
• Objective -> universal, not reliant on human opinion, upbringing, preference -> objective not subjective

Question 5

Is Intuitionism Cognitive

Answer 5

• Not cognitive in same way as Naturalism (proves ethical propositions using empirical evidence)
• Still objective donc cognitive
• Cognitive as ethical language is meaningful as it is objective

Question 7

Intuition is not common sense

Answer 7

• Recognises ‘intrinsic goods’, could be argued just the same as common sense (self-evident truths)
• Moore -> moral intuition reveals objective moral truths, common sense is subjective

Question 8

Moral Intuition Infallible - Moore

Answer 8

• All MAs possess same universal intuition, appears infalliable
• Practical application takes maturity (recognising something as ‘good’ doesn’t mean doing it)
• With maturity people realise duty to practically apply intuitive ethical knowledge
• Best way to apply = make most ‘intrinsic good’ consequences (teleological)

Question 9

Pirchard Background

Answer 9

• Created own version of theory in ‘Does Moral Philosophy Rest on a Mistake?’
• Agreed ethical language terms indefinable, recognisable through intuition
• Intuition innate ability universal to all MAs
• Disagreed intuition reveals ‘intrinsic goods’ and duty = make most ‘intrinsic good’ consequence

Question 10

Prichard Overview

Answer 10

• Focused on ‘ought to do’
• Believed ‘ought’ complex term, indefinable, cannot empirically study what MA ‘ought’ to do
• MAs still able to recognise what they ‘ought to do’
• Recognise ‘ought’ not intrinsic goods, duty to carry out this action
• Sense of duty comes from intuition, guides us to follow set of deontological actions

Question 11

General Thinking - P

Answer 11

• MAs use reason to assess facts of moral situation (e.g. woman considering abortion)
• Only place in ethics = to confirm moral thinking (e.g. moral intuition indicates teachers duty = be kind to students, general thinking confirms)

Question 12

Moral Thinking - P

Answer 12

• MA carrying out duty by following immediate intuition (‘ought to do’) in particular situation (e.g. intuitively deciding if abortion is right action)
• Must not allow general thinking to take over

Question 13

Intuition universal - Prichard

Answer 13

• Moral intuition innate + universal ability
• Some have clearer intuition than others as ‘moral thinking’ developed more
• Does not clearly explain why/how to develop MT
• Perhaps through education/maturity

Question 14

Challenge - No proof moral intuition exists

Answer 14

• Fails to explain why intuition exists
• “I imply nothing whatever as the manner or origin of our cognition of them”
• No reason it should be taken as basis of moral language
• People have intuition of rain tomorrow, BBC weather forecast not based on this

Question 15

J.L. Mackie - No proof moral intuition exists

Answer 15

• Intuitionism so implausible, odd, made whole theory ‘queer’
• ‘Argument from queerness’

Question 16

No proof moral intuition exists - alternative explanations

Answer 16

• Some scholars suggest universal innate ‘intuitionism’ doesn’t exist
• Religious person -> voice of God guiding them (Christianity -> Holy Spirit)
• Sociology -> comes from social conditioning
• Social conditions vary between cultures, cannot be innate, intuition not reliable guide to moral language
• Just reflection of morals of our community

Question 17

Intuitive truths can vary widely

Answer 17

• Strong evidence no innate universal intuition -> MAs variety of moral ‘truths’
• Recent academic study -> less than half jury thought dishonest for carer to persuade old/ill person to change will in their favour -> different ideas of honesty -> no innate, universal moral intuition

Question 18

Intuitive truths can vary widely - Response

Answer 18

• Prichard accepted MAs can have different ‘ought to’ intuitive reactions in same moral situation
• Due to some MAs developed intuitive moral thinking further than others
• Seems like cop out, could mean morality subjective
• Henry Sidgwick -> significant disagreements about truth of intuitive concepts = cast doubt on whether intuition actually existed
• Intuitionists can’t agree (Moore goods, Prichard ought)
• Richard Norman “for what is self-evidently true for one of them is self-evidently false for the other”
• No innate universal moral intuition

Question 19

No obvious way to resolve conflicts

Answer 19

• How to decide which MA correct when different ‘oughts’
• Takes very monist view (one solution to ethical language)
• Ayer -> not surprising due to nature of Intuitionism (not based on reason, empirical evidence) -> no way of analysing where MA might have gone wrong
• Ross -> MA use intuition to choose one of 7 ‘prima facie duties’ when faced with moral dilemma rather than single decision -> more flexibility

Question 20

Strengths

Answer 20

• Makes morality objective, universal -> gives importance, not matter of personal opinion, upbringing, preference
• Gives morality set of absolutes (friendship is an intrinsic good) -> matches MAs common sense view of ethics
• Arguable allows MA to answer MDs clearly, instantly -> very simple to follow, avoids potentially unnecessary complex moral debate