moral theory flashcards

What are the three reasons to talk about the basics of philosophy?

There is a lot of widespread ignorance, widespread misconceptions, and common prejudices about philosophy.

What are the widespread ignorances about philosophy?

A lot of people simply don’t know what philosophy is

What are the widespread misconceptions about philosophy?

A lot of people think they know what philosophy is, but have misconceptions

What are the common prejudices about philsophy?

There are a lot of groundless biases/negative views about philosophy that should be overcome.

What are the absolute basic beliefs about philosophy?

Philosophy is an ancient discipline devoted to the quest for truth.

What does the quest for truth mean?

It means that philosophers seek the truth, regardless of whether it is pleasant, comforting, or otherwise reassuring. (In this respect, philosophy is like empirical science)

What is the translation of philosophy and what are its origins?

Philo-sophia (greek origins) meaning love of wisdom

What two questions does philosophy ask?

Theoretical and practical

What is theoretical philosophy?

Asks fundamental questions about the way the world IS. It is devoted to discovering basic facts about the nature of reality. The answers to questions in theoretical philosophy will not tell you how to behave or treat people. It will tell you things about the way things are.

What are some examples of questions that are asked in theoretical philosophy?

Does God exist?

Do humans have free will?

How far does human knowledge extend?

What is the purpose of law?

Do humans have immaterial souls?

What is practical philosophy?

Asks fundamental questions about the way the world OUGHT TO BE. It is devoted to gaining insight into the way that we should live, individually and in society.

What are some examples of questions that are asked in practical philosophy?

What virtues should I develop to thrive?

How should I treat strangers?

What are the main values that should inform our social institutions?

Do we have obligations to respect all life?

What should I do when morality and self-interest conflict?

People who are strong in theoretical matters have ___, and in practical matters have ___.

Theoretical wisdom and practical wisdom

How does philosophy try to answer fundamental theoretical and practical questions (the “big questions” or “deep questions”)?

By trying to use reason

Philosophy is a fundamentally rational discipline, meaning..

That philosophers try to answer these questions by providing logical supporting arguments

You can do philosophy:

Well or poorly. There are rules. To be a good philosopher takes practice, discipline, and skill.

What is the definition of philosophy?

The discipline of rational inquiry into the truths of, reasons for, and meaning of our fundamental beliefs (those that cannot be determined by empirical science), undertaken in order to gain theoretical and practical wisdom.

What is a common misunderstanding about philosophy?

That philosophy only asks one type of question: questions about the ultimate nature of reality or the ultimate meaning of life, aka abstract questions

Basic branches of philosophy=

Primary branches

Specific branches of philosophy=

secondary branches

What are the three primary branches of theoretical philosophy?

Metaphysics, epistemology, and logic

What is metaphysics?

Studies the ultimate nature or feature of reality

What are some examples of metaphysics questions?

What is existence?

Is reality ultimately one united substance, or is it divided up into different kinds of substances?

Does God exist?

Does everything happen for a reason?

What is epistemology?

Studies the nature of knowledge and the justification of knowledge claims

What are some examples of epistemology questions?

What is knowledge?

What is the difference between the knowledge and mere opinion?

Is knowledge ultimately based in sense-experience?

How do we justify claims to know things?

What is logic?

Studies the nature of reasoning (because of this, therefore that)

What are some examples of logic questions?

What are the rules of correct reasoning?

What are the common fallacies (errors in reasoning)?

What are the different kinds of reasoning?

What are the two primary branches of practical philosophy?

Normative ethics and normative social-political philosophy

What is normative ethics?

Studies how one ought to live

What are some examples of normative ethics questions?

How should humans live if they wish to flourish?

What are out moral obligations to others?

Are all persons equally owed respect in virtue of their simple humanity?

What is normatice social-political philosophy?

Studies how societies ought to be organized

What are some examples of normative social-political philosophy questions

What form of government ought to be established to have flourishing societies?

What values should inform our social institutions?

To what degree should governments have control over individuals lives?

What are the secondary branches of pphilosophy?

Aesthetics, philosophy of science, philosophy of language, philosophy of law, philosophy of religion, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of mind, bioethics, business ethics, philosophy of race, class, and gender, philosophy of technology, meta ethics, and philosophy of education

One can also study philosophical movements (feminism, existentialism) which are:

Constellations of views grouped together from a variety of different branches of philosophy

One can also study the history of philosophy which is:

Ancient philosophy or medieval philosophy—>or more specific forms like ancient greek metaphysics, medieval theories of ethics

How are philosophy and science similar?

Both try to use reason to try and understand the world, both try to justify their findings with evidence and reasoned argumentation, and both commited to observing the laws of logic

How are philosophy and science dissimilar?

Philosophy ask questions that are more abstract and less amenable to determination using scientific method, and philosophy asks questions about what is good, bad, right, wrong (practical philosophy) but empirical science is not well-suited for this

Philosophy and science are not competitors but rather:

Comrades

Modern science used to be known as:

Natural philosophy

How are philosophy and religion similar?

Both seek to address fundamental questions about the nature of the world and how we should live within it

How are philosophy and religion dissimilar?

Philosophy uses reason to inquire about everything and doesn’t involve any faith components while religion employs a faith component

What are the two reasons why you would study philosophy?

Instrumental value and intrinsic value

What is the instrumental value reason to study philosophy?

Philosophy is worthwhile because it is highly useful in certain ways. Developing skills that are highly VALUABLE and marketable (money and success) (gaining something from it)

What is the intrinsic value reason to study philosophy?

Worthwhile because it’s a crucial part of living a good, flourishing life (doesn’t care for money or success)

Can people value both instrumental and intrinsic values?

Yes, some people can value both.

Who has fundamental beliefs?

Everyone has fundamental philosophical beliefs.

What separates philosophical people from non-philosophical people is

The former don’t just have beliefs, they understand what they believe. The former are also far more concerned to rationally justify their beliefs

What does rational inquiry mean?

You can make mistakes if you aren’t rational (irrational)

What does truth of mean?

The truth is independent from what you’d like it to be

What is wishful thinking?

People that are guided by what they wish to be the case

What does reasons for mean?

Not just answers to the questions, but being able to back it up

What does meaning of mean?

“What do you mean by that?” “What exactly does X mean?

What is mere practical ethics?

Claims about what is good/bad.right/wrong, but with little or no clarification (unpacking) or justification

What are examples of claims that mere practical ethics make?

“Be kind to people”

“it’s wrong to hurt people”

“Stealing is wrong”

“Honor your parents”

What is ethical philosophy?

The rational consideration of practical and theoretical questions relating to what is good/bad/right/wrong, with careful attention to clarification and justification

What are examples of ethical philosophy claims?

What does X mean exactly? Why is X G/B/R/W/?

Mere practical ethics claim—>Normative ethics question—>meta-ethics question

You should respect other people.

Should you respect other people? If so, why?

What do you mean by ‘respect’?

What are ethics?

Relates BROADLY to questions about what is G/B/R/W, whether for an individual taken alone, or for individuals in relation to others

What is morality?

A NARROWER notion that relates to what is G/B/R/W intersubjectively (for people in relation to to others)

Why is ethical philosophy necesary?

It tries to tackle these sorts of questions using reason. However, it is possible to tackle them using something different, like religion, conscience, or law

Since it is difficult to use religion, conscience, and law to tackle these sorts of questions, why is it important to use ethical philosophy?

It uses reason to attempt to find universally valid answers to questions about G/B/R/W

What does Rachels say a good ethical/moral reasoner will do?

1. Keep strong initial emotional urges at arms length.

2. Try to identify the relevant underlying principles.

3. Try to get the relevant facts straight.

4. Reason about which underlying principles are correct and how to apply them

5. Try to remain impartial as possible

What is cultural moral relativism?

The view that there are indeed valid moral codes that apply to people (whether they like it or not), but these are valid relative to different cultures (across different times)

CMR is opposed to:

Moral objectivism 

What is moral objectivism?

Holds that moral rules are timeless and apply to all persons regardless of culture

If someone is a CMR, there are still standards for:

What is valid and what is not. Those standards are just relative to the culture that somebody is speaking from. 

Moral objectivism says:

That there are objective truths/moral claims that are above what any culture might say is wrong. If we ewant to be moral objectivists, then we myst justify an objective standard.

Nicomachean ethics (Aristotle) part 1:

Everything and anything that we do intentionally, we do for some reason, not necessarily moral.

Nicomachean ethics (Aristotle) part 2:

Every intentional thing we do aims at some desired result/goal/end which we seek because we consider it “good” in some way, but, this does not mean it will always be morally good.

Nicomachean ethics (Aristotle) part 3:

Some actions are done for their own sake (they have intrinsic worth to us), while other actions are done for the sake of some further thing we want (they have instrumental worth to us)

Nicomachean ethics (Aristotle) part 4:

All intentional action is teleological

What does teleological mean?

It is orineted towards, and understood in relation to, a goal or a purpose (from the greek word ‘telos’)

Nicomachean ethics (Aristotle) part 5:

Many of our intentional actions have a certain hierarchy to them: we engage in certain actions/use certain skulls because they ultimately help us achieve further/deeper goals (ie. social media influencer and the subsidiary skills required to achieve the master goal). He says there most likely will be some ultimate good that we want for its own sake.

Nicomachean ethics (Aristotle) part 6:

Based on these reflections, it makes sense to think that there is some ultimate goal that we want for its own sake (ie. intrinsically valuable) and this goal makes sense of all our intentional actions in life

What is the first warning before proceeding in Nicomachean ethics (Aristotle)?

Don’t expect perfect precision in a study like ethics. Given its abstract nature, our work will inevitably have a certain sketchy character (this is about the object of studying)

What is the second warning before proceeding in Nicomachean ethics (Aristotle)?

You need a kind of rational maturity to benefit from this study. Most young people lack this, because they are push/pulled in action by their emotions, feelings, and can’t understand or internalize rational principles.

What does Aristotle think is the most reasonable thing to think?

That everything we intentionally do inlife is ultimately for the sake of some chief/higher/ultimate good-something that is intrinsically worthwhile, something we desire for its own sake. 

What is Eudaimonia really translated to?

A flourishing life or a well-lived life (not happiness)

What does happiness often imply?

A fluctuating psychological state associated with feelings of pleasure.

Why shouldn’t we translate eudaimonia to happiness?

It’s a more objective notion that refers to a condition of a life that is well-lived, so this is why “a flourishing life” or “a well-lived life” is a better translation.

What are the 4 common views about the flourishing/good human life that Aristotle said?

1. Pleasure: a life devoted to pleasure is suitable for cattle, not humans. We’re worth more than this.

2. Social acclaim: The good life shouldn’t rely purely on what others think, so it’s probably not this.

3. Wealth: Money is an instrumental good, therefore it can’t be the intrinsic goal of life.

4. Contemplation/wisdom

What is the function argument?

In order to know what makes something a good/bad specimen of its species/type, we first need to know what its function is (what it does). This is an epistemological point: it tells us what we need to know in order to make certain judgements.

What did Aristotle say about functions?

Given that we take on roles that have functions, and are made up of parts that have functions, it would be strange to think that we (merely as humans) don’t have functions. 

What does Aristotle say our function can’t be?

It can’t be sentient life because we share that with animals. And it isn’t nutrition and growth because we share that with plants

What does Aristotle say our function is?

Rational activity. This is what defines us and sets us apart. This is what, more than anything, makes us human. This is our core function (to reason)

Therefore, what does Aristotle think a good, flourishing human will be?

A human who excels in the use of their reason/ideally over their whole life 

What does Aristotle say about his approach?

That it’s decidedly biological in nature. He is focusing on species abilities and his judgements about flourishing/non-flourishing lives should be understood in this biological way. 

According to Aristotle, what are the 2 kinds of rational activity?

1. Higher order of cognition (relates to thought)

2. Rational self-control (relates to actions and feelings)

To flourish, we must excel at these forms of rational activity over time

What is the connection between function and flourishing?

To flourish, we must fulfill our function well over time.

What is Aristotle’s view an early example of?

Natural law view

What is natural law view?

The idea that what is good for something is a function of what it is

What standards does Aristotle’s theory also provide us with?

1. Judge how much we actually are flourishing and

2. Determine how we should live

What does Aristotle’s theory provide us with?

An objective grounding for claims about good human lives, which goes against a great deal of contemporary thinking of lives (within society)

For Aristotle, is flourishing a species or individual notion?

Species