Moral Philosophy 5 Markers

Explain Kant’s first formulation of the categorical imperative. (5)

• The first formulation is used as a way of deriving more specific duties and is stated thus:

• ‘Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law’

• Acting on a maxim that does not pass this test is morally wrong

• Maxims that pass this test are morally permissible

• A maxim fails the test of the Categorical Imperative if universalising it leads to a contradiction

Explain Moore’s ‘open question argument.’ (5)

• Attempts to prove that moral properties cannot be reduced to any non-moral properties, that they are their own unique sort of properties

• Moore uses the argument to support his non-reductive non-naturalist position

• A closed question is a question whose answer is decided by the meanings of the concepts involved in the question

• An open question is a question whose answer cannot be decided this way

• Moore states that questioning whether something is good is open

• So, moral properties cannot be reduced to scientific or natural facts

Explain why utilitarianism has an issue with partiality. (5)

• Utilitarianism revolves around the utility principle (greatest amount of good for greatest number of people)

• Overall, it can be argued that utilitarianism does not take into account the superior importance of certain relationships

• Bentham believes that all pleasures are equal, for example

• Particular people have greater moral importance than others

Explain what Mackie’s error theory claims. (5)

• Error theory is cognitivst and anti-realist

• Cognitivism = ethical language is meaningful, makes claims about mind-independent reality, claims that there are mind-independent moral facts and that such claims are truth apt

• Anti-realism = Moral judgements are false, there are no mind-independent moral facts and when we make such judgements we are in error

• Error theory is the claim that moral statements are false because moral statements can only be false if they are truth apt

Explain the ‘skill analogy’ that Aristotle uses in his account of virtue. (5)

• The skill analogy is Aristotle’s account of how you become virtuous

• For example, no-one is born able to play the lyre, but we have the capacity to do so

• We learn the lyre by playing it

• We play until we are habituated to playing it

• It is helpful to have a good teacher or model to help acquire the ability

• The same can be said for virtue

Explain the criticism that Kant ignores the value of certain motives. (5)

• Kant claims that for an action to be morally good, it must be motivated by good will

• This means that one is motivated by duty alone

• One must therefore act out of duty, not merely in accordance with duty

• Kant states that reason ought to motivate us

• The criticism is that Kant doesn’t value things like the desire to do good, to help others, to help people in a relationship with you, self-interest etc

• Some might argue that it is not possible to be motivated by reason alone

Explain the difference between Bentham’s quantitative hedonistic utilitarianism and Mill’s qualitative utilitarianism. (5)

• Utilitarianism = ethical theory based on utility principle

• Mill draws a distinction between higher and lower pleasures

• These are pleasures of thought, feeling and imagination

• Bentham does not see any differences between pleasures

• He thinks that they are all equal

• Qualitative vs quantitative

Explain Hare’s prescriptivism. (5)

• Hare’s prescriptivism is a response to the challenge of logical positivism and the verification principle

• It states that ethical utterances are non-cognitive attitudes

• Ethical statements do not make descriptive claims about reality which are true or false

• Hare allows that ethical language can have a descriptive meaning despite ethical claims being non-cognitive

• Ethical utterances are imperatives prescribing how anyone should behave

• Once a standard has been chosen by someone it must be applied universally to all relevantly similar agents

• Thus they are meaningful because they prescribe actions

Explain Aristotle’s function argument. (5)

• According to Aristotle, the final end for humans is eudaimonia

• This is a permanent state of human flourishing

• This is achieved primarily by humans fulfilling their function

• The function of humans is to be rational

• The function of the human is found through what is unique to the human

• According to Aristotle, humans have a tripartite soul

• Life of nutrition, life of perception and life in accordance with a rational principle

• Only the third is unique to humans

Explain Mackie’s argument from relativity against moral realism. (5)