Meta Ethics

Analysis of ethical language.
Cognitive
1. Naturalism
  1. Cognitive and objective.
  2. All ethical statements are the same as non-ethical ones. They are factual and can be verified and falsified.
2. Non Naturalism
  1. Language is made up of predispositions.
  2. Hume
    1. The only basis of morality is humanity.
    2. You can't make an ought from an is.
  3. G.E.. Moore
    1. To claim moral statements can be verified and falsified commits the naturalistic fallacy.
      1. Naturalistic Fallacy- The claim that good can't be defined.
3. Intuitionism
  1. G.E. Moore
    1. What is good? My answer is that good is good, and that is the end of this matter.
    2. There are objective moral truths.
    3. Good is indefinable.
    4. We use our moral intuition.
  2. H.A. Pritchard
    1. Some people's intuition are better developed than others.
    2. Obligations are as indefinable as good.
    3. 2 reasons of thinking: reason and intuition.
  3. W.D. Ross
    1. Prima Facie duties are always right.
    2. One duty can be favoured over another.
    3. Judgement must be used to decide what to do in any situation.
4. We can have moral knowledge
Non- cognitive
1. Emotivism
  1. A.J. Ayer
    1. 'Ethical terms do not serve only to express feelings. They are calculated also to arouse feeling, and so to stimulate action.'
    2. 2 meaningful statements: Analytic and synthetic.
      1. Analytic - Truth can be determined simply by understanding terms that occur in them.
      2. Synthetic - Truth can be determind by checking to establish facts.
    3. Words like good are meaningless.
    4. Ethical statements are just expressions of feelings.
    5. Ethical statements can't be validated.
  2. C.L. Stevenson
    1. Ethical statements are attitudes based on beliefs about the world.
    2. Ethical statements are attempts to influence the views of others.
    3. Ethical statements are subjective opinions.
2. Prescriptivism
  1. R.M. Hare
    1. Ethical statements are expression of opinion..
    2. Ethical statements are universal.
    3. They are not just expressing our views, but prescribing them to others.
3. No ethical knowledge

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	Created by sophieec98 over 8 years ago