Session 8

Question 1

What is the difference between normative and descriptive statements?

Answer 1

Descriptive statements tell us what the world is like
Normative statements evaluate (eg: good or bad) the world or tell us how we ought to act

Question 2

Varieties of Normativity

Answer 2

• Morally required
• Legally required
• Prudentially required
• Aesthetically best
• Etiquette require

Question 3

Internal criticism

Answer 3

Normative argument is logically flawed (conclusion doesn’t follow from the premise)

Question 4

External criticism

Answer 4

Normative argument is unsound

Question 5

Hume’s Law (is/ought gap)

Answer 5

To derive a normative conclusion, at least one premise must also be normative

Question 6

Rights

Answer 6

Rights are correlated with duties
A has the right to X if and only if others have the duty to behave towards A in a specific way with regard to X.

Question 7

Reflective Equilibrium Steps

Answer 7

1. Initial moral beliefs
2. Assess initial intuition for error and remove if found
   Keep assessing for defects (eg: bias, false information, emotionally driven, all relevant facts)
3. Identify general principles that support intuition
4. Apply principles to other situations to check if they produce plausible judgements
5. If they fit = all is well
   Do not fit = modify moral principles/ find other general principles/ abandon initial moral intuitions

Question 8

Conclusion of reflective equilibrium

Answer 8

Moral judgements and principles that are in reflective equilibrium are justified
Good reasons to believe that these judgements and principles are true

Question 9

How to assess normative truth

Answer 9

Premise survives the first filtering process = well-considered (survived initial process of filtering)
Premise coheres with other well-considered normative verdicts and general principles
Normative premises are ill-considered or inconsistent = reject

Normative premises are well-considered and cohere widely = accept