Comprehensive Ethics and Law: Anscombe, Dworkin, MacIntyre, Plato, Scruton, and Sade

Anscombe's Three Theses

(1) Moral philosophy should be laid aside until we possess an adequate philosophy of psychology; (2) the concepts of moral obligation and duty should be jettisoned because they are survivals from a 'law conception of ethics' that no longer has the necessary root of a divine lawgiver; (3) the differences between modern English moral philosophers since Sidgwick are ultimately insignificant.

The 'Moral Ought' as a Survival

Anscombe argues that the modern 'moral' sense of 'ought' is a derivative from a divine law conception of ethics that has survived the abandonment of the belief in God as a legislator.

Brute Facts

A concept describing the relationship between factual descriptions and moral conclusions; for instance, the facts that a grocer supplied potatoes and sent a bill are 'brute relative to' the description 'I owe the grocer money.'

Consequentialism

A term Anscombe uses to describe the philosophy which holds that the 'right action' is determined by the best possible consequences of a particular action in specific circumstances.

Philosophy of Psychology

Anscombe insists we cannot understand ethics without first clarifying concepts such as 'action,' 'intention,' 'pleasure,' and 'wanting.'

Legal Positivism (Hart's Version)

The theory that law is a set of 'special rules' distinguished by their 'pedigree' or the manner in which they were adopted rather than their moral content.

Rules vs. Principles

A logical distinction where Rules are applicable in an 'all-or-nothing' fashion, while Principles do not necessitate a particular result but provide a reason that argues in one direction.

Dimension of Weight

Unlike rules, which are either valid or invalid, principles have a dimension of weight or importance; when they intersect, they must be balanced against one another to resolve the conflict.

Strong Discretion

The positivist doctrine that if a case is not covered by a clear rule, a judge has the discretion to reach beyond the law and manufacture a new rule.

Riggs v. Palmer

A landmark case where a court used the principle that no one should profit from their own fraud to prevent an heir from inheriting the estate of the grandfather he murdered.

The Enlightenment Project

The attempt by 18th and 19th-century philosophers to provide a rational justification for morality.

The Aristotelian Teleological Scheme

A threefold moral structure consisting of: (1) untutored human nature as it is; (2) man-as-he-could-be if he realized his telos; and (3) the moral precepts that enable the transition from the former to the latter.

The Cause of Failure

The Enlightenment project failed because it abandoned the concept of a human telos while attempting to retain the moral injunctions originally designed to help man reach that purpose.

Functional Concepts

In the classical tradition, 'man' was a functional concept, meaning a 'good man' was defined by his ability to fulfill his specific purpose or social roles.

The 'No Ought from Is' Thesis

The claim that no moral conclusion can follow from factual premises; MacIntyre argues this became an 'inescapable truth' only after the loss of the teleological framework.

The Sovereignty of Law

Socrates argues that one must not repay injustice with injustice and that he must abide by the laws of the state even if he believes his sentence is unjust.

Argument from Agreement/Contract

Socrates posits that by remaining in Athens for seventy years, enjoying its benefits, and raising children there, he has entered into an implicit agreement to obey its laws.

The Laws as Parents

The personification of the Laws argues that they are responsible for Socrates' birth, nurture, and education, and therefore he owes them the same obedience that a child owes a parent.

The Danger of Disobedience

Socrates believes that for a private individual to overthrow or disregard judicial decisions is an act that tends to destroy the state and its laws.

Obscenity

Defined not by subject matter but by a 'depersonalized' perspective that dwells on the 'fleshly reality' of the body to the eclipse of the individual person.

Voyeuristic Perspective

The characteristic of pornographic or obscene works that adopt a third-person perspective, treating the body as an animal or mechanical object rather than an embodied self.

Sexual Shame

A 'protective feeling' of individual worth against the public sphere; it is a recoiling of the body when exposed to the desirous thoughts of another who is not desired.

Modesty as a Virtue

Scruton argues that modesty is the precondition of desire because it safeguards the 'core experience' of arousal.

The Intentionality of Desire

Contrast to lust or obscenity, desire is focused on the individual person as an immanent object, rather than merely the animal gratification of a generic sexual impulse.

Destruction of the 'Christian Cult'

Sade argues that a republican state must annihilate religious superstition to prevent the return of monarchy and tyranny.

Nature as a Guide

Sade suggests that man's only guides should be 'nature' and 'energy,' and that the 'communal aspect of life' in a republic renders certain acts justified by natural needs.

Moral Indifference of Acts

He argues that acts like murder or sexual libertinage are merely 'transmutations' of matter that serve Nature's laws of destruction and reproduction.

Republican Education

Sade calls for the youth to be instructed in 'sound ethical basis' devoid of religious 'chimeras,' where their duties are limited to their own satisfaction.