Philosophy exam 1

Argument

a set of statements in which one or more statements (the premises) are intended to support another statement (the conclusion).

Two statements that make for a good argument

1. Good Premises: both premises need to be true

2. Good reasoning: premises should provide support for the conclusion

What does it mean for an arguement to be valid?

when it is impossible for all of its premises to be true while its conclusion is false.

why does the prospect of heaven and hell not create a suitable motivation for morality?

If someone behaves morally only due to the prospect of potentially going to either heaven or hell, then their motivation is more self interested than rather being generally moral.

How can the prospect of heaven and hell undermine moral character?

people will begin to think of morality more as a transaction. “If I act good ill go to heaven, if I act bad ill go to hell”

Divine Command Theory

Divine Command Theory is the view that what makes an action morally right or wrong depends on God's commands.

How does the Divine Command Theory make morality arbitrary

The concern is that if morality depends entirely on God's commands, then something could seemingly become morally right or wrong simply because God commands or forbids it.

Natural Law Theory

the view that morality is based on the natural purposes built into human nature. Human beings can use reason to determine what is good because certain things naturally contribute to human flourishing.

Why do some natural law theorists argue against homosexuality

They argue against it because they believe reproduction serves as a natural purpose for humanity

Instrumentally good

Something is instrumentally good when it is good because it helps us achieve something else that we value.

Example:
Money is instrumentally good because it can help us buy food, housing, education, entertainment, etc.

Intrinsically good

it is good for its own sake, rather than because it leads to something else.

Example:
If happiness is intrinsically good, then happiness is valuable simply because experiencing happiness is good.

Rosses Two Worlds

Ross uses a two-worlds case to challenge the idea that pleasure is the only thing that is intrinsically valuable.

Imagine two possible worlds:

• World A: Contains a very large amount of pleasure.

• World B: Contains the same amount of pleasure, but the pleasure exists in connection with something that is genuinely valuable or worthwhile.

Hedonism

the view that pleasure is the only thing that is intrinsically good and pain is intrinsically bad.

What does the two world case show?

If something other than pleasure can make the world better, even when the amount of pleasure remains the same, than pleasure cannot be the only intrinsic good.

Utilitarianism

the moral theory that says that we should choose the action that produces the greatest overall amount of wellbeing and happiness, and the least suffering

Utilitarian Decision Theory

Utilitarian decision theory applies utilitarian reasoning to individual decisions.

When deciding what to do, you would theoretically:

1. Identify all possible actions.

2. Consider the consequences of each action.

3. Estimate how much happiness and suffering each consequence would produce.

4. Compare the outcomes.

5. Choose the action producing the greatest overall good.

The problem with the utilitarian decision theory

This theory can be too demanding and would require people to think about an enormous amount of consequences before each and every decision they made

Act Utilitarianism

Each individual action is morally right if it produces the greatest overall good compared with the available alternatives

Everytime you act you should choose the decision that provides the greatest amount of happiness.

Supererogatory Action

An action that is morally good but is not morally required, it is admirable to do it but it is not obligatory that you do the action.

The problem for act utilitarians

They have a problem with distinguishing between actions that are morally required actions and actions that are morally good but are optional.

Meta ethics

Studies the nature of morality itself

Normative ethics

determines what rules, actions or character traits are morally right and wrong

Applied ethics

applies moral theories to serious real world moral problems

Dogmatism

the inability for a person to seriously reconsider ones own beliefs even when presented with evidence that goes against it

offhand self justification

someone gives a quick explanation to defend a belief instead of seriously considering whether the belief is justified

moving by instinct

relying on immediate gut reaction rather than carefully examining the reasons for belief or decision

Fallacy

an error in reasoning that makes for an argument to be logically defective

Trajectory Argument

argues that an action or practice should be judged partly by considering the direction or consequences that accepting it could lead toward.