Philosophy #2

What is ethics?

What is right and wrong

What is metaethics?

Explores the nature and meaning of moral judgments, values, and beliefs

What is moral relativism?

The view that moral judgments are true or false only relative to some particular standpoint

If someone believes in moral progress, can they be a moral relativist?

No

What is moral universalism?

The view that there are some universal moral principles or rules that apply to everyone, regardless of their culture, beliefs, or background

What is moral intuition and how does it provide a good argument for moral universalism?

The immediate, spontaneous judgments we make about the morality of actions or situations without conscious reasoning or analysis, The same sort of intuition that justifies that my eyesight is generally accurate justifies that my moral “sight” is generally accurate

What is the divine command theory?

This view believes that something is wrong solely because of God’s command

What is a theological problem with the divine command theory?

God set us free from the law

What is consequentialism?

This view says that what makes an action right or wrong has nothing to do with the means but only by what it results in

What are some problems with consequentialism?

How far in the future should we measure?, This view justifies some pretty heinous things (e.g., police “photography”)

What are deontological/duty ethics?

Something is right or wrong not based on its outcome, but on whether it follows certain duties we all have. An action is permissible if you can will that everyone do that action without contradiction

What are some problems with deontological/duty ethics?

This view would also justify some heinous acts (e.g., “Nazis at the door”), t tells us what not to do but it doesn’t tell us what to do

What is moral foundation theory?

Suggests that human moral judgments are driven by five innate psychological systems, or foundations, that evolved to facilitate cooperation and social life

Which moral theory says that actions are not inherently good or bad but that people are?

Virtue Ethics

Which moral theory did we say Scripture seems to support?

Natural Law Theory

Who developed natural law theory?

Thomas Aquinas

According to natural law theory (as discussed in class), how do we discover the true nature of humanity?

Is discovered through understanding the universal, objective moral principles inherent in human nature and accessible through reason. This involves recognizing the natural inclinations and potentialities of humans and their inherent purpose, which is to live a good and flourishing life

What are the three main reasons why knowing virtue ethics and natural law theory matters?

How often do you ask, “Is it a sin to do x?”, It gives us a moral framework for explaining why certain things are wrong without just appealing to Scripture, It points us to Christ as the only source of our true identity

What is aesthetics?

The philosophical investigation of beauty

Is beauty a purely physical trait?

No

What is aesthetic realism?

Some things are truly beautiful and others not; Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder

What is aesthetic subjectivism?

Beauty is merely a way of saying that something gives us pleasure; Beauty is not “out there” but just a matter of taste.

Which philosophical position argues for aesthetic subjectivism (see lecture 26, slide 19 and following)

Postmodern

Which thinker argued that female beauty standards are a form of social control?

Plato

What is the best definition of science that we gave in class?

The systematic investigation of the world through empirical observation.

What is the demarcation problem?

The failure to divide between science and pseudoscience

What is falsificationism?

Something is scientific if it can be falsified; In other words, unless your idea has some way that we can show it to be wrong, it isn’t scientific

Which philosopher is most associated with falsificationism?

Karl Popper

What is verificationism?

The best criterion for determining what is scientific, In other words, you don’t have show how your claim can be shown to be wrong; you just have to show what it would take to prove it right

Is science objective?

No

Who invented the idea of a paradigm shift?

Thomas Kuhn

What is a paradigm shift?

A fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions.

Which philosopher argued against the idea that science had any established definition or method?

Paul Feyerabend

What is scientific antirealism?

To some degree, science doesn’t tell us the truth about the world but merely provides us with a framework for interpreting it

Should Christians be antirealists?

No

What are the three reasons I gave why Christians should care about political philosophy?

We can trust that we know the world because we are creations of God; God made us with the ability to know the world truly, since we are in His image; In other words, science is not opposed to belief in God; we can only trust science at all because we believe in God; Christianity gives us a reason to trust our best science

Who invented the idea of a philosopher king?

Plato

What is a philosopher king?

A person highly educated in philosophy with unlimited power to promote the will of the people.

What is liberalism?

The government’s role is to promote individual freedoms, rights, and (most commonly) democracy. Thus, the government should be limited in power, the markets should be free, as well

What is conservativism?

Promotes tradition, social stability, and hierarchy, Often in favor of the traditional religious and social institutions, seeing them as goods

What is Marxism/communism?

Envisions a classless, stateless society free of private property; everything is owned collectively, and all work for the good of the community; The profit incentive is removed, as well as social institutions like religions (which are used to oppress the common people)

What is fascism?

Envisions a classless, stateless society free of private property; everything is owned collectively, and all work for the good of the community, The profit incentive is removed, as well as social institutions like religions (which are used to oppress the common people)

True or false: The concept of human rights goes back to ancient philosophy

False

Which two philosophers developed the idea of human rights?

Plato & Aristotle

True or false: Historically, rights were developed out of a certain theology

True

My take in class was that we should ask less about human rights and more about a shared set of human ___________.

responsibilities

What is negative freedom?

Freedom to do whatever you want

Which philosopher did we associate with negative freedom?

John Locke

What is positive freedom?

Freedom to accomplish my purposes

Which two philosophers did we associate with positive freedom?

Thomas Hobbes, Karl Marx

True or False: Negative and positive freedom complement and never contradict one another.

False

Which thinker said that those in power define freedom in a way that suits their agenda?

Michel Foucault

What is a Christian definition of freedom?

Freed from sin to higher purpose and joy (God), Paul calls us both free and slaves; Freedom is not about being free from constraints nor pursuing pleasure, but finding true identity

Who was the founder of classical economics?

Adam Smith

What is the Invisible Hand of the Market?

A concept that argued that if left alone, resources would be distributed well among the people

What is the labor theory of value?

Something's value is based on the amount of labor that went into making it

What is capitalism?

Promotes the ownership of privately owned, for-profit companies that control their own means of production

What is socialism?

Government and/or the people collectively own means of production rather than private companies/individuals

What is an extreme form of socialism?

a form of exploitation where those who don’t work reap the profits and those who do live in servitude

What is corporatism?

The means of production is not owned by companies or the government but by collective interest groups (e.g., unions, guilds, etc.)