Moral - Applied Ethics

Question 1

What is simulated killing?

Answer 1

The dramatisation of killing within a fictional context

E.g. watching a film with killing in, or playing a game where the player kills

Question 2

What are the possible issues of simulated killing?

Answer 2

• Is it morally acceptable to represent killing? In the UK pedophilia and rape are illegal, why not killing?
• Can exposure to simulated killing make people more violent?
• Is there a moral difference between watching passively (film) or actively engaging (video game) in simulated killing?

Question 3

What is stealing?

Answer 3

Taking someone else’s property without permission and without the intention of returning it

Question 4

What is the issue of stealing?

Answer 4

Owning property requires ‘property rights’: the notion that an individual has rights over certain things

To steal is to violate these rights

Question 5

What is the issue of eating animals?

Answer 5

Is it ever acceptable to consume animals?

Question 6

What is the issue of lying?

Answer 6

Is it ever acceptable to misinform with the intention of misleading someone?

Question 7

What is the moral realist take on stealing/sim. killing/lying/eating animals?

Answer 7

Naturalist: ‘stealing is wrong’ is true if stealing has the natural property of wrongness (causing upset)
Non-naturalist: ‘stealing is wrong’ is true if stealing has the non-natural property of wrongness via synthetic a priori self-evident knowledge

Question 8

What is the moral anti-realist take on stealing/sim. killing/lying/eating animals?

Answer 8

Error theory: ‘stealing is wrong’ is false since property of ‘wrong’ doesn’t exist
Emotivism: ‘boo! Stealing!’ Not capable of true or false
Prescriptivism: ‘don’t steal!’ Not true or false

Question 9

Utilitarianism on stealing

Answer 9

Act: can steal if it increases happiness
Rule: could make a rule of don’t steal to create security and happiness
Pref: can steal if it maximises preferences/rational interests

Question 10

Kant on stealing

Answer 10

Never steal because it is a contradiction in conception which would lead to property no longer being a concept (perfect duty)

Question 11

Aristotle on stealing

Answer 11

Stealing is never in the golden mean, so it is always wrong (can disagree and say phronesis would be considered)