Moral Philosophy - Metaethics

What is meant by moral principles originating in reason?

Moral truths are discovered through rational reflection and logical reasoning

What is meant by moral principles originating in emotion or attitude?

Morality arises from our emotional responses or attitudes (e.g., approval/disapproval).

What is meant by moral principles originating in society?

Moral values are created or shaped by social customs, norms, and cultural practices.

What is cognitivism in ethics?

The view that moral statements express beliefs and can be true or false

What is non-cognitivism in ethics?

The view that moral statements do not express beliefs, and are not truth-apt

Give an example of a cognitivist interpretation of ‘Murder is wrong

It expresses a belief that can be true or false — e.g., “It is a fact that murder is wrong.”

Give an example of a non-cognitivist interpretation of ‘Murder is wrong’.

It expresses emotion or a command — e.g., “Boo to murder!” or “Don’t murder!”

What is moral realism?

The belief that there are mind-independent moral facts — morality exists objectively.

How does moral realism relate to cognitivism?

Moral realists are always cognitivists — they believe moral claims describe objective truths.

What is moral naturalism?

The view that moral properties are natural properties (e.g., pleasure, well-being).

What type of theory is moral naturalism?

Cognitivist — moral claims are truth-apt and can be studied empirically.

How does Bentham’s utilitarianism count as moral naturalism?

It identifies moral goodness with maximising pleasure, a measurable natural property.

How can virtue ethics be a form of moral naturalism?

Virtue ethics sees moral traits as human flourishing or fulfilling natural functions.

What is moral non-naturalism?

The view that moral properties are real but non-natural — not discoverable through science.

What is intuitionism?

The belief that we have a direct, intuitive awareness of moral truths.

Who argued for moral intuitionism?

Philosophers like G. E. Moore and H. A. Prichard.

What is Moore’s ‘open question argument’?

If “good” is defined as a natural property (e.g. pleasure), it’s still an open question whether pleasure is good — showing the definition is inadequate.

What is the naturalistic fallacy?

Moore’s claim that you can’t define a moral term (like “good”) in non-moral, natural terms.

What is Hume’s is-ought gap?

You can’t derive an ‘ought’ (moral claim) from descriptive facts (‘is’ statements) alone.

What is Hume’s Fork?

All knowledge comes from either relations of ideas or matters of fact — and moral claims fit neither, so they’re not knowledge.

What is A.J. Ayer’s verification principle?

A statement is only meaningful if it’s empirically verifiable or analytically true.

Why does Ayer say moral claims are meaningless?

Moral statements can’t be verified by experience or logic — so they express only emotion.

What is Hume’s argument that beliefs alone don’t motivate?

Moral beliefs can motivate action, but ordinary beliefs can’t — so moral judgments must involve desires or emotions.

What is Mackie’s argument from relativity?

Because moral values vary widely between cultures, it’s likely they’re subjective, not objective.

What is Mackie’s argument from queerness (ontological)?

Objective moral properties would be metaphysically strange — unlike anything else in the universe.

What is Mackie’s argument from queerness (epistemological)?

We would need a special faculty to perceive these strange moral properties — which we don’t have evidence for.

Does Mackie accept the existence of moral truth?

No — Mackie is an error theorist: moral claims try to report facts, but all such claims are false.

What is the difference between moral realism and anti-realism?

Realism = mind-independent moral facts exist; Anti-realism = they don’t.

Which metaethical views are cognitivist?

Moral realism, moral naturalism, moral non-naturalism (e.g., intuitionism).

Which metaethical views are non-cognitivist?

Emotivism (Ayer), Prescriptivism (Hare), Quasi-realism.

What is emotivism?

Ayer’s view that moral language expresses emotions (not beliefs).

What is prescriptivism?

R.M. Hare’s view that moral statements are universal prescriptions (e.g. “You ought to…” = a command).

How does prescriptivism differ from emotivism?

Emotivism is about expressing feelings; prescriptivism is about giving moral guidance or rules.

What does it mean for a theory to be reductive in metaethics?

It attempts to explain moral terms using non-moral (e.g. natural/scientific) properties.

Why does Moore oppose reductive definitions of ‘good’?

He claims they commit the naturalistic fallacy — good cannot be reduced.

What is moral anti-realism?

The view that moral facts do not exist objectively (includes non-cognitivism and error theory).

What is error theory?

The view that moral statements are truth-apt but always false because there are no moral facts (Mackie).

How does prescriptivism improve on emotivism?

It adds rational guidance — moral statements act as universal prescriptions for action.

How does the open question argument challenge moral naturalism?

It shows that defining moral terms with natural ones leaves the meaning still “open”, so the definition fails.

Why does Hume’s is-ought gap challenge naturalist theories?

Because naturalists move from “is” (facts) to “ought” (moral claims), which Hume says is invalid without justification.