meta ethics

Question 1

what is utilitarianism and who came up with it

Answer 1

• bentham
• greatest good for the greatest number

Question 2

what is benthams utilitarianism

Answer 2

• sole intrinsic good is happiness
• all human action should aim to fulfil happiness
• hedonic calculus
• every pleasure is equal
• pain could be measured

Question 3

what is john stuart mills utilitarianism

Answer 3

• did not agree that all pleasures are equal
  
  • QOL rather than amount of pleasure
  • distinguished between higher intellectual and aesthetic pleasures and lower physical pleasures

Question 4

strengths of ethical naturalism

Answer 4

• is morally objective
• based on nature which everyone can experience

Question 5

weaknesses of ethical naturalism

Answer 5

• allows for genocide
• g e moore intuitionism
• doesnt allow for cultural differences

Question 6

what is intuitionism and who came up with it

Answer 6

• g e moore
• moral right and wrong is known through intuition
• cannot prove moral goodness
• compared to the colour yellow
  
  • once yellow objects are pointed out we can immediately recognise it in other objects

Question 7

what does W D Ross think

Answer 7

• intuitions may point people in different directions
• in some situations there might be conflicting duties and that it might not be obvious which takes authority
• he listed 6 prima facie duties

Question 8

what are the 6 prima facie duties

Answer 8

• keeping promises
• paying back harm done to others
• not injuring others
• returning favours and services that others have given us
• not harming innocent people
• looking after parents

Question 9

what does it mean when a duty is prima facie

Answer 9

• duties that should always be fulfilled

Question 10

strengths of intuitionism

Answer 10

• self evident objective reality
• fits with the universal experience of having moral intuitions about something

Question 11

weaknesses of intuitionism

Answer 11

• not everyone agrees
• where does intuition come from, if we cant observe it maybe it doesnt exist
• no say of distinguishing something actually being right and someone thinking it’s right

Question 12

what is divine command theory

Answer 12

• moral commands come from god and can be found in holy books
• claims there is an objective right and wrong

Question 13

strengths of divine command theory

Answer 13

• very easy to understand, what god says is right or wrong must be right or wrong
• promise of life after death gives purpose to morality

Question 14

weaknesses of divine command theory

Answer 14

• disagreement within religion
• euthyphros dilemma (is something right because god commands it or does god command something because it is right = not omnipotent)
• some moral choices in the bible are questionable