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64 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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2 tenents of MCI
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must be impartial, must be backed by good reasons
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the tenent of MCI that says that morality must be impartial says that...
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...everyone's welfare counts equally
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what does the tenent of MCI that says that moral judgments must be backed by good reasons presuppose?
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that there are universal, objective moral truths
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objective moral truths
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Some actions right, some wrong, independent of whether people think they are right or wrong
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universal moral truths
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Some actions right, some wrong, independent of whether people think they are right or wrong
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What’s the difference between a normative/prescriptive/value claim and a descriptive/empirical/factual claim?
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prescriptive/normative/valur claims are claims about how the world should be; while descriptive/empirical/factual claims are claims about how the world actually is, was or is likely to be
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Each person ought to pursue his or her own self-interest exclusively. N/D
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N
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A good knife is sharp, sturdy, and easy to use.
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N
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I disapprove of cheating.
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D
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If you don’t want to get a speeding ticket, you should slow down.
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N
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Adolf Hitler was an evil man.
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N
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President Bush should veto the bill allowing more embryonic stem cell research
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N
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Tonight we’re going to party like it’s 1999.
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D
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I’m the “good cop,” and you’re the “bad cop.”
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D
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If you don’t slow down, then you will get a speeding ticket.
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D
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Ethical egoism is the idea that each person ought to pursue his or her own self-interest exclusively
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D
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cultural relativism says that...
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...there is no measure of right or wrong other than the standards of one’s society
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Which tenet(s) of the minimum conception of morality does cultural relativism deny?
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Both: 1. Universally, they say you don’t need to treat everyone equally. May be true in a particular culture. There are no universal/objective moral truths
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State the premise and the conclusion of “the Cultural Differences Argument.”
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Cultural differences argument says that different cultures have different moral codes and concludes that whether something is right or wrong depends on customs of culture
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What are the three seemingly implausible consequences of cultural relativism?
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If CR is true, then it follows that:
i. We couldn’t criticize the practices of other cultures ii. We couldn’t criticize the practices of our own society iii. Wouldn’t have moral progress |
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Psychological egoism
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People are only capable of acting selfish
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What significance does valuing something as an end in itself versus valuing it merely as a means have for properly understanding psychological egoism?
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a. Psychological egoist claims we can’t value other’s wellbeing for its own sake (as an end in itself)
b. Not view that we can’t use someone else’s wellbeing as a means to the end of making us happy |
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Is psychological egoism the view that no one is capable of acting in a way that benefits someone else?
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No- It can, but we only do so as a means to the end of our own happiness
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Which tenet(s) of the minimum conception of morality does psychological egoism deny?
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Not impartial: Not everyone’s welfare counts equally
Descriptive theory of human psychology, so no universal moral truths |
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Suppose it is true that anytime someone satisfies a desire, she feels a sense of satisfaction. According to Rachels, does this mean that the object of the desire was this sense of satisfaction?
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No: It’s incidental
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Ethical egoism
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People always ought to do what is in his/her self-interest (acting altruistically without self-benefit is acting wrongly)
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Do ethical egoists claim that one should avoid doing any action that helps others?
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NO: Sometimes, the action that is best for you also benefits others, but the benefit to others is not the reason you should choose to do this
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Is ethical egoism the view that one should do what one most wants to do in the moment or what gives one the most pleasure in the short run?
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NO: Selfishness, but not foolishness, should consider self-interest in long run
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What is the difference between psychological egoism and ethical egoism?
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Psychological- A descriptive theory about human nature and motivation
Ethical- A normative theory, telling us how we ought to act |
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Which tenet(s) of the minimum conception of morality does ethical egoism deny?
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Both
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What is the “commonsense” view of morality?
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Shouldn’t kill, shouldn’t harm other people, shouldn’t lie, shouldn’t steal, should keep promises
Other people’s interests matter for their own sake |
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(32) Suppose someone could cheat on an exam, not get caught, and that in doing so she could gain some benefit for herself. According to the “commonsense” view of morality, would it be morally permissible for her to cheat?
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NO
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Revisionary ethical egoist
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Commonsense view of what you should do is wrong, thing that’s in your best interest is sometimes to lie, steal, cheat…
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Non-revisionary ethical egoist
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Takes ongoing relationship with individual seriously. Commonsense view tells you right things to do. You should follow them because doing so is in your best interest. Generally, if people follow them, we’re all better off.
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One-shot prisoner's dilemma: you don’t confess, partner does
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They go free, you get 25
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One-shot prisoner's dilemma: You confess, partner doesn’t
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You go free, they get 25
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One-shot prisoner's dilemma: Both confess
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Each get 10
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One-shot prisoner's dilemma: Neither confess
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Each get 1
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If you are a rational agent concerned only to minimize the amount of time you spend in jail and are stuck in a prisoner’s dilemma, what ought you to do, no matter what your partner does?
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Always confess, unless playing the game over and over again
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normative ethical subjectivism/simple ethical subjectivism
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An action is morally right for some person IFF the person who is presumably judging that action approves of it.
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According to normative ethical subjectivism, how should we understand someone’s claim that torturing an innocent person for fun is wrong?
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They’re reporting the fact that they have a negative attitude towards torturing for fun, and is true to the extent that they correctly reported their opinion
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meta-ethical subjectivism/emotivism
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Moral language used to express approval/disapproval and influence behavior. Can’t be true or false.
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According to meta-ethical subjectivism, what is someone doing when she says “torturing an innocent person for fun is wrong”?
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They’re expressing their disapproval for torturing in order to influence your behavior.
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Explain the difference between normative ethical subjectivism and meta-ethical subjectivism
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a. Moral judgments can not be true or false in MES, while they can be in NES
b. In MES, you are trying to influence behavior c. Can have emotional disagreements in MES |
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Explain the difference between normative ethical subjectivism and ethical egoism.
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a. Ethical subjectivist- When you say something, stating disapproval
b. Ethical egoist- When you say something, you’re saying whether it’s in your self-interest |
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What question does Socrates ask Euthyphro to answer?
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What is piety?
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What are the three conditions that a satisfactory answer to Socrates’ question must satisfy (these were given in class)?
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a. Name the one thing that all right acts have in common that makes them right
b. Explanation of why right acts are right c. Test for determining for any act, if it is the right action |
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What are Euthyphro’s three responses to Socrates’ question?
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What I’m doing (prosecuting my father) is right, what is dear to the gods is pious, what all the gods love is right
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Which of Euthyphro's responses satisfies a condition?
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What all the gods love is right- satisfies third
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According to the Divine Command Theory of morality, to say that an action is morally wrong means what?
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God forbids it
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Give an example to illustrate the reasoning behind “the Cultural Differences Argument.”
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Islam thinks that suicide bombing is right, Christianity doesn’t. Thus, it’s not objectively right or wrong, it’s just a matter of opinion that varies between cultures.
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How can the distinction between beliefs about how the world is and beliefs about how the world ought to be be used to argue that there is not as much difference between the moral codes of different societies as there, at first, appears to be.
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One practice could be objectively right, and one could be mistaken
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Rachel’s summarizes two arguments often offered in support of psychological egoism. Briefly reconstruct these.
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a. We always do what we most want to do
b. We do what makes us feel good |
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How can the distinction between acting on a desire and the object of a desire be used to undermine one argument for psychological egoism?
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It depends on the object of the desire- if you’re acting on a desire, you’re doing what you want. The object of the desire can help to determine whether you’re acting selfishly.
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Under what conditions will an ethical egoist help out someone else?
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If, by acting in his self-interest, someone else will be helped incidentally
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Suppose someone could cheat on an exam, not get caught, and that in doing so she could gain some benefit for herself. According to the view called revisionary ethical egoism, would it be morally permissible for her to do so?
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yes
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Suppose someone could cheat on an exam, not get caught, and that in doing so she could gain some benefit for herself.According to non-revisionary ethical egoism, is she required to do so?
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no
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Explain the argument for ethical egoism that altruism is self-defeating
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People shouldn’t be praised for altruism- they’re only doing what they want to do
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Explain Rachel's criticism for the argument for ethical egoism that altruism is self-defeating
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i. There are things people do not because they want to, but because they feel like they should
ii. Even if someone is acting only out of self interest, their interest is to help people, so it’s not selfish |
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Which tenet(s) of the minimum conception of morality does normative ethical subjectivism deny?
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Only the individual’s welfare counts
Only right for one person- subjective |
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According to normative ethical subjectivism, my statement that torturing someone for fun is wrong can be false. What would make such a statement false, according to a normative ethical subjectivist?
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If they were incorrectly reporting their opinion
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According to meta-ethical subjectivism, statements like “you should not steal,” “you should not cheat on your partner,” “you should keep your promises” have two purposes. What are they?
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a. Expressing opinion
b. Influencing behavior |
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What are the two problems with normative ethical subjectivism, as discussed in class?
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a. If NES is true, we are always right
b. If NES is true, there can be no moral argument |
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How does meta-ethical subjectivism get around the two problems that normative ethical subjectivists face?
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a. There is no true or false
b. Can have emotional disagreement |
