Ethical Theories and Their Concepts

Emotivism

• Definition: Emotivism asserts that moral statements are expressions of emotional attitudes rather than factual claims.
• Key Concepts:
  • A.J. Ayer is a prominent proponent of emotivism, linking it with logical positivism.
  • Example Statement: Saying "Murder is wrong" expresses the speaker's disapproval (e.g. "Boo to murder!") instead of stating a fact.
  • Moral Disagreements: According to emotivism, moral disagreements are essentially disagreements about feelings, not objective truths.
• Critiques:
  • Criticized for undermining serious moral debate and being too dismissive of reason.
• Nature of Moral Language:
  • Emotivists believe moral language serves to express approval or disapproval rather than to describe facts.
  • It is evaluative but not fact-based; moral language doesn't report objective truths.

Subjectivism

• Definition: Subjectivism posits that moral claims are rooted in personal beliefs or feelings.
• Key Concepts:
  • If subjectivism holds, moral truths are dependent on individual preferences rather than universal standards.
  • Example Statement: "Lying is wrong" means "I disapprove of lying".
  • Moral progress and disagreement highlight limits in subjectivist views.
• Critiques:
  • Subjectivism can collapse into relativism and fails to adequately account for moral disagreements.
• Validity of Views: Under subjectivism, two people can both be considered right in their differences based on personal beliefs.

Relativism

• Definition: Cultural relativism claims that moral truths are relative to cultural contexts.
• Key Concepts:
  • A major implication is that no culture can be morally criticized by another, which may lead to moral paralysis.
  • Critics argue that relativism complicates moral reform because it treats all views as equal.
• Critique of Relativism:
  • It may seem unable to account for moral disagreements leading to inconsistency in moral reasoning.

Natural Law Theory

• Definition: Natural law theory argues that morality is grounded in human nature and reason.
• Key Concepts:
  • It claims that humans possess an essence which leads to universal moral laws.
  • Key figure: Aquinas, who emphasizes that laws that contradict reason are unjust.
• Critiques:
  • Critics argue it relies on a fixed notion of human nature which may not account for cultural variations.

Rights Theory

• Definition: Rights theory focuses on individual entitlements and their protection.
• Key Concepts:
  • Negative rights (e.g. freedom of speech) versus positive rights (e.g. the right to education).
  • Societal justice is achieved when individual rights are respected.
• Critiques:
  • Validity of rights can conflict, which can lead to moral dilemmas.

Utilitarianism

• Definition: Utilitarianism focuses on outcomes, specifically maximizing happiness and minimizing suffering.
• Key Concepts:
  • Jeremy Bentham's principle of utility emphasizes pleasure and pain as moral guides.
  • John Stuart Mill expanded this by incorporating the quality of pleasure.
• Critiques:
  • Criticized for potentially justifying immoral actions if they result in greater overall happiness.

Deontology

• Definition: Deontology emphasizes duties and moral rules, regardless of outcomes.
• Key Concepts:
  • Immanuel Kant argues that a good will acts according to principles that are universally applicable.
  • The categorical imperative commands actions based on whether they can be universalized.
• Critiques:
  • May lead to rigid moral rules that don't account for situational nuance or consequences.