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Meta Ethics
The Last Module… eeeeek!
Ethical Language
• Before anyone can begin to establish what
is good or bad moral behaviour, we need
to establish if we can define these words.
• The branch of moral philosophy which
deals with this is meta-ethics – which asks
what do words such as good/ bad/ right/
wrong actually mean.
Meaning?
• One main question within meta-ethics is
“Can ethical language have any meaning?”
• If we are unclear about the nature and
meaning of words, how can we make
authoritative claims about how people
should act?
Good/ Ought
• The word good has many meanings and
most of them are not used in a moral
context:
e.g. My computer is good – it fulfils the task I
want it to.
• In the same way ‘ought’ is used in different
contexts:
e.g. Teachers ‘ought’ to be kind to their
students.
Subjective/ Objective
• A key factor in all of this is whether ethical
dilemmas are subjective or objective.
• Are they based on personal preference or
on external facts?
• If moral values are objective then they are
true for everyone.
• If moral values are subjective then there
can legitimately be differences of opinion
about how to act.
Cognitive/ Non-Cognitive
• If morality is objective then it is also
cognitive – cognitive language deals with
making propositions about things which
can be known and therefore proved true or
false = Propositional View.
• If morality is subjective then it is also noncognitive – it deals with matters which are
not simply resolved by proving they are
true or false = Non-Propositional view.
Naturalism
• A key question when trying to reach a
definition of morality etc. is the is-ought
gap (or the Naturalistic Fallacy).
• Naturalistic theories of ethics attempt to
define good in terms of something that can
be identified in the world of human nature
– e.g. claiming that which makes us
happy, fit or healthy is good.
Naturalism
• If we adopt this approach we effectively
turn an ‘is’ into an ‘ought’.
• G.E. Moore argued that it is not
acceptable to identify morality with any
other concept, such as happiness,
because the comparison will always be
inadequate.
Naturalism
• More importantly, if we say that something ‘is’
the case, we are making a descriptive statement
of how things actually are.
• David Hume argued that there was nothing in a
descriptive statement that allows us to proceed
from what people actually do (a factual
statement) to what people ought to do (a value
judgement). E.g. If I want to be a concert pianist
I ought to practice – does not necessarily mean I
will improve enough.
Research
• You need to know about three metaethical theories:
- Emotivism
- Intuitionism
- Prescriptivism
In groups you need to research these and
make an A4 handout on them.
Research
Emotivism
Key Thinker:
G. E. Moore
Intuitionism
Key Thinker:
A. J. Ayer
Prescriptivism
Key Thinker:
R. M. Hare
Include: Theory,
Include: Theory,
Include: Theory,
strengths/weaknesses strengths/weaknesses strengths/weaknesses
READ:
READ:
READ:
Thompson: p129-131
Thompson: p127
Thompson: p131-132
Bowie: Chapter 7
Bowie: Chapter 6
Bowie: Chapter 7
Tyler+Reid (h/out)
Tyler+Reid (h/out)
Tyler+Reid (h/out)
Additional Library
Research
Additional Library
Research
Additional Library
Research