III - MORAL REALISM

These flashcards cover key concepts and definitions from the lecture on metaethics, focusing on moral realism, divine command theory, and objections to these theories.

What does metaethics examine?

Metaethics examines the cogency of moral arguments rather than making moral claims.

What is a key question metaethics addresses regarding moral claims?

Metaethics questions how we know if a moral claim (P) is true.

What are the two positions on morality according to metaethics?

Morality is either context dependent, or it is objective.

What are the conditions under which one can know that P is good?

One knows that P (is good) if certain conditions X, Y, Z are met or the moral claim is supported.

What major theories are included in metaethics?

Some metaethical theories include Moral Realism, Moral Subjectivism or Sentimentalism, Theological Voluntarism, and Free Will and Moral Responsibility.

What is the main idea of Moral Realism?

Moral Realism posits that there are moral facts and that moral judgments can be true or false based on these facts.

What does Divine Command Theory state?

Divine Command Theory holds that morality is determined by God's commandments.

What is an objection to Moral Realism regarding God’s commands?

An objection is whether actions are commanded by God because they are obligatory, or if they are obligatory because they are commanded by God.

What is the implication of a belief in God's existence for the Divine Command Theory?

Divine command theory depends on the belief in God's existence; atheists may not acknowledge the obligations set by such commands.

What is Anti-Realism in metaethics?

Anti-Realism denies at least one of the five doctrines of moral realism, suggesting that nothing is morally wrong or that moral discourse has a cognitive nature.