Emotivism and Cultural Relativism: Key Ethical and Moral Concepts

Emotivism

This meta-ethical theory claims that moral judgments are neither true nor false but are merely expressions of the speaker's emotions, particularly feelings of approval or disapproval.

Ethical Subjectivism

The philosophical position that holds moral judgments are dependent on the feelings, attitudes, or standards of a person or group, and that there are no objective moral facts.

Logical Positivism

The view in logical positivism that claims legitimate truth claims must be empirically verifiable through sense experience.

Charles L. Stevenson

The American philosopher (1909-1979) who developed one of the most influential theories of ethics in the 20th century, focusing on emotional expressions in moral language.

Value Judgement

The type of ethical judgment that, according to the text, requires backing by reasons and becomes merely capricious without sensible rationale.

The Problem of Disagreement

The philosophical problem that arises in Ethical Subjectivism when two people sincerely hold opposing moral views about the same issue.

Love

The Christian philosophical emphasis mentioned in the text that suggests that this virtue is fundamentally about strong liking, desire, or emotion.

Instinctive responses

This is the type of response that some ethicists believe feelings represent when faced with moral dilemmas - described as both instinctive and trained.

Ethics-without-feeling

The meta-ethical approach that completely removes feelings from moral decision-making, which the text argues goes against both morality and Christian philosophy.

Ethical Subjectivism vs Emotivism

The primary difference between Ethical Subjectivism and Emotivism is that Subjectivism treats moral statements as reports of attitudes while Emotivism treats them as expressions of attitudes.

Disagreement Scenario

If Ethical Subjectivism were correct, the scenario that would be impossible is two people disagreeing about whether an action is moral.

Emotivism interpretation of 'Stealing is immoral'

a) 'I disapprove of stealing'

Problematic aspect of logical positivism for Emotivism

b) It is self-refuting since it cannot itself be verified by sense experience

Problem with Ethical Subjectivism

a) It would make acts like slavery good if people liked them

Ethics-without-feeling and Christian philosophy

b) Love, which is central to Christianity, involves strong emotions and desires

Role of feelings in ethics

c) Feelings should be anchored to careful consideration of right goals and provide motivation for ethical action

Jack the Ripper example and Ethical Subjectivism

b) It would require us to say we're merely expressing feelings rather than stating facts about evil actions

Functions of moral sentences according to Emotivism

c) Influencing behavior and expressing (not reporting) attitudes

Emotivism leading to anarchy

b) It provides no basis for distinguishing moral judgments from personal preferences

Problematic scenario for Ethical Subjectivist

c) Someone saying 'I used to think X was wrong, but now I realize I was mistaken'

Difference between moral judgments and personal preferences

b) Moral judgments require backing by pertinent reasons while preferences do not

Relationship between reason and emotion in ethics

c) Both play important roles, with emotions providing motivation and reason providing guidance

'Moral sense is nothing but herd instinct'

a) All moral feelings are learned rather than innate

Feelings in moral decision-making

Feelings are important but should be anchored to careful consideration of right goals and provide motivation for ethical action.

Culture as an embodiment of symbolic communication

A range of symbols, skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, and motives with deliberate meanings.

Enculturation

How children socially learn the culture, including morality, of those around them.

Social convention theory

Moral laws are defined as nothing but social conventions agreed upon by people.

C.S. Lewis' argument about morality and mathematics

Both require logical reasoning to understand and abstraction so that morality can be quantified as numbers.

Cultural relativism

No act is good or bad objectively; there is no single objective universal standard.

Cultural differences argument

Different cultures have different moral codes, therefore there is no objective truth in morality.

Rachels' counter-argument about Greeks and Galatians

Apparent moral differences may actually reflect different beliefs about facts, not values.

Eskimo practice of infanticide

Life is harsh and the margin of safety is small that makes survival difficult.

Cultural Understanding

The idea that we should try to understand other cultures and be humble in accepting one another's cultural flaws.

Moral Inferiority

The belief that the customs of other societies are morally inferior to our own.

Social Functions of Cultural Practices

The notion that cultural practices serve different social functions that cater for the survival of each culture.

Major Logical Problem of Cultural Relativism

It is inconsistent in promoting tolerance while teaching that no culture is superior.

Western Ethics

Primarily focuses on finding truth through rational thought.

Filipino Concept of 'Hiya'

Best described as the fear of losing face or being embarrassed in the sight of others.

'Pakikisama' in Filipino Culture

Involves having and maintaining good public relations to avoid conflicts.

Universal Values

Challenges cultural relativism by suggesting that certain values are generally shared by cultures despite geographical distance.

Rachels' Argument about Eskimos

Demonstrates that cultural practices may serve the same underlying values despite appearing different.

Culture Determination

Culture is learned through social processes, not determined by biological factors.

Social Conditioning Theory

Proposes that moral consciousness is nothing but an outcome of social conditioning.

Cultural Relativism and Moral Standards

Maintains that moral standards differ between cultures.

Logical Inconsistency in Cultural Relativism

The statement 'there are no absolutes' is itself an absolute claim, creating a logical inconsistency.

Disagreement and Objective Moral Truth

Rachels argues that disagreement doesn't prove the absence of objective truth.

Eastern Ethics

Places greater emphasis on protocol, respect, and family obligations compared to Western ethics.

Filipino Value of 'Utang na Loob'

Refers to the concept of reciprocity and returning favors.

Cultural Relativism and Analytical Thinking

Discourages analytical thinking and promotes conformity to social norms.

Moral Progress and Cultural Relativism

If cultural relativism is correct, moral progress is impossible because there is no standard by which to judge improvement.

Universal Values and Cultural Relativism

Provide weak evidence against cultural relativism by showing that some moral principles are shared across cultures.