ethical naturalism summary
good is definable - through observing the natural world, it is a thing
ethical naturalism - Bradley
must look at wider society to find good
ethical naturalism - aquinas
o Aquinas links goodness to divine will and humans’ telos. These lead to a following of the 5 PPs, which are good
ethical naturalism - foot summary
o Moral good can be observed in the form of virtues pursued by individuals
o Virtues and following of these virtues can be observed and therefore good can be observed
general postives of ethical naturalism
- Believing moral claims are nothing but opinions means there are never any objective values or truths = anarchy. - - - Naturalism provides a basis for human rights.
general negatives of ethical naturalism
- Nature can be misunderstood, could potentially justify evil things e.g. evidential problem of evil + Naturalistic fallacy
- If nature is fallen (Augustine), how can you advocate morality based on a nature that is inclined towards sin?
ethical naturalism criticism - Moore
- G. E. Moore
o Puts forward naturalistic fallacy due to his open question technique
intuitionism - Moore
‘Good is Good, and that is the end of the matter.’
o Agrees with Hume’s fact-value gap, ( cannot move from a descriptive statement like to a moral statement)
general positives of intuitionism
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- Situational
- Allows for more control
- Morally realist, offers a sense of moral duty/motive.
general negatives of intuitionism
- Relative, could lead to bad actions if conflicting principles
- Not practical in terms of deciding moral rules
- Intuitionism is based solely on introspection, subjective
intuitionism - criticisms of Moore
o Moore claims we are able to recognise non-natural properties e.g. good but how are to know it is not a creation of our minds?
what are the 2 non cognitive ethical strands
emotivism - ♣ Moral judgements are neither true or false, merely expressions of feelings of those who utter them (AYER)
prescriptivism - ♣ Ethical language is individuals’ attempt to get others to conform with their moral viewpoints, persuasive
(STEVENSON)
emotivism - ayer
- Moral judgements are neither true or false, merely expressions of feelings
- Rejected intuitionism as intuitions are unverifiable and meaningless
emotivism - boo hurrah
- Moral judgements are internal – based on feeling
- When you say something is good/bad you express your reaction to it: either boo (dislike) or hurrah (like and approval)
- in saying that an action is right or wrong, I am not making any factual statement, I am expressing moral sentiments. (Ayer)
negatives of ethical non-cog (emotivism/presc) - general
- reduces morality too far, need some concept of good/bad in society
- Emotivism fails to recognise cultural relativity when it comes to morality
quasi realism
morality is non cognitive (like emotivism), but that doesn’t make it meaningless - act as if its cognitive whilst also acknowledging that there isn’t an objective good
