RS - Meta ethics

What is Naturalism?

A cognitivist, realist theory. Key thinkers include Bentham, Aristotle and Bradley. This theory is named as such because moral properties- e.g. rightness, wrongness- are thought to be features of the world, and therefore empirically (through our senses) discoverable.

What is emotivism?

an ethical theory that regards ethical and value judgments as expressions of feeling or attitude and prescriptions of action, rather than assertions or reports of anything.

(Ayer and Stevenson)

What is intuitionism?

The theory that humans have a natural faculty that gives us an intuitive awareness of morality

(Prichard, Ross, Moore)

What is prescriptivism?

the view that moral judgments are prescriptions and therefore have the logical form of imperatives.

What is cognitivism?

The claim that ethical judgements state facts and so are either objectively true or false

What is non-cognitivism?

Moral statements are neither true or false, are not right or wrong, instead they're an expression of feeling or belief

What is absolutist ethics?

position from which there is a clear-cut right or wrong response for every ethical decision

What did AJ Ayer say?

English emotivist who concluded that because moral statements were not claims to knowledge, they were not fit for philosophical study and should be consigned to a separate class of statements, which he termed 'factually nonsensical'

What did CL Stevenson say?

Argued that terms such as murder are emotive as much as words like 'wrong'

What did RM Hare say?

Oxford "Prescriptivist" moral philosopher who who argued that morality is an expression of human emotion and thus cannot be awarded fact status

What did Prichard say?

No definition can be given to 'good'. Two types of thinking - reason and intuition. Reason looks at facts, intuition decides what you do. The intuition would show which action is right and where our moral obligations lay. He recognised people's morals were different; some have developed it more but did not explain why.

What did Phillipa Foot say?

British moral philosopher who devised the Trolley thought experiments to demonstrate how our moral intuitions can conflict with each other

What is the Hypothetical Imperative?

Commands to do an action on the basis of having a desired end. "If you want y, then do x."

What is the Categorical Imperative?

an unconditional moral obligation that is binding in all circumstances and is not dependent on a person's inclination or purpose.

What is Logical Positivism?

belief that a concept is meaningful only if it can be empirically verified

What are the Cognitivist theories?

Naturalism, Intuitionism

What are the non-cognitivist theories?

emotivism and prescriptivism