Chapter 1- Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

Ethical terms

"Right" and "wrong," "good" and "bad," "ought" and "ought not," "just" and "unjust," "virtuous" and "vicious."

Adam Smith

18th century philosopher associated with emotivism. Maintains that human beings are motivated by the experience of pity, compassion and sympathy for other human beings. For him, ethics develops out of natural sympathy toward one another, experienced by social beings like ourselves.

David Hume (Hume's Law)

18th century philosopher, noticed incest appears to be quite natural- animals do it all the time. But human beings condemn incest. If it is natural, why do we condemn it? He pointed out the problem of deriving an ought from an is. Associated with emotivism (theory of moral sentiments). Maintains that reason is "the slave of the passions," by which he means that the end goals we pursue are determined by our emotions, passions, and sentiments.

Philosophical Ethics

A critical enterprise that asks whether any particular set of values or beliefs is better than any other. We compare and evaluate sets of values and beliefs, giving reasons for our evaluations.

Philosophy

A discipline or study in which we ask- and attempt to answer- basic questions about key areas or subject matters of human life and about pervasive and significant aspects of experience.

Begging the question

A fallacious argument in which the conclusion is assumed in the premises (also called a circular argument).

Circular argument

A fallacious argument that assumes what it seeks to prove (also called begging the question).

Kant's moral theory

A non-consequentialist theory, according to which acts are judged right or wrong independently of their consequences; in particular, acts are judged by whether they conform to requirements of rationality and human dignity.

Ad hominem

A phrase meaning "to the person"; these arguments are (usually) fallacious arguments that attack a person rather than the person's idea or logical reasoning.

Ethical theory

A systematic exposition of a particular view about the nature and basis of good or right. The theory provides reasons or norms for judging acts to be right or wrong; it provides justification for these norms. These norms can then be used as a guide for action.

Ethical statements or judgements

Also evaluative. They tell us what the speaker believes is good or bad. They do not simply describe the object of judgement, they go further and express positive or negative regard for it.

Ethical argument

Always involves some claim about values- for example, that saving a life is good. These value-based claims must be established through some theory of values. Also involve conceptual and factual matters.

Valid argument

An argument in which the conclusion necessarily follows the premises, and the premises or reasons given for the argument are true. An argument is poorly constructed when it is fallacious or when the reasons on which it is based are not true or are uncertain.

G.E. Moore (naturalistic fallacy)

An influential philosopher of the early twentieth century. Maintained that moral terms such as good are names for no empirical properties that cannot be reduced to some other natural thing. Claimed that the attempt to define good in terms of some mundane or natural thing such as pleasure is to commit a version of this fallacy. Suggested there is always an open question about whether what is natural is also good. Also associated with intuitionism.

Rationalizations

Are usually excuses, used to explain away bad behavior. These false reasons are given to make us look better to others or ourselves.

Naturalistic fallacy (associated with Moore)

Argument that inappropriately derives normative claims from descriptive claims

Metaethical Inquiry

Asks questions about the nature of ethics, including the meaning of ethical terms and judgements.

W.D. Ross

Associated with intuitionism. Thinks that we have a variety of "crystal-clear intuitions" about basic values.

Types of fallacious arguments:

Begging the question, circular argument, ad hominem

Descriptive (empirical) judgement:

Capital punishment acts (or does not act) as a deterrent.

Normative (moral) judgement:

Capital punishment is justifiable (or unjustifiable).

Ethics subjectivist

Claim that value judgements merely express subjective opinion.

Intuitionism (G.E. Moore, W.D. Ross)

Claims that our ideas about ethics rest upon some sort of intuitive knowledge of ethical truths. Significant problem is that people's moral intuitions seem to differ.

Leon Kass

Contemporary author associated with emotivism. Argues that there is wisdom in our experiences of disgust and repugnance- that our emotional reactions to things reveal deep moral insight. Focuses on the "yuck factor" of bio technologies like cloning.

Normative ethics

Defends a thesis about what is good, right, or just

Types of moral theory:

Egoism and contractarianism, utilitarianism, deontological ethics, natural law, virtue ethics, and feminist ethics

Normative judgements in:

Ethics, Law, Aesthetics, Religion, Custom

Natural law ethics

Focuses on human nature and derives ethical precepts from an account of what is natural for humans. (Ex. Sociobiology)

Sociobiology (introduced by biologist E.O. Wilson)

Human behaviors result from the pressures of natural selection. Understanding human morality involves understanding the adaptive advantage of certain behaviors, which can be studied by comparing human behaviors with the behaviors of other social animals- from insects to chimpanzees.

From Ruse's perspective, morality itself is merely an _______________ good that is used by evolution for other purposes. Morality is, from this perspective, simply a tool that helps the human species to survive.

Instrumental

Giving reasons to ________ a conclusion is also not the same as giving an explanation for why one believes something.

Justify

Emotivism (A.J. Ayer, C.L. Stevenson, Adam Smith, David Hume, Leon Kass)

Maintains that when we say something is good, we are showing our approval of it and recommending it to others rather than describing it. The worry here is that our emotions merely express internal or subjective responses to things and that they do not connect us to an objective and stable source of value.

Consequentialist (Consequentialism)

Normative theories that focus on the consequences of actions; examples include egoism, altruism, utilitarianism (versus non-consequentialism).

Utilitarianism

Normative theory that we ought to concern ourselves with the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people (associated with Bentham and Mill). A consequentialist moral theory in which we judge whether an action is better than alternatives by its actual or expected results or consequences; actions are then judged in terms of the promotion of human happiness.

Arguments from analogy

One compares familiar examples with the issue being disputed. If two cases are similar in relevant ways, then whatever one concludes about the first familiar case one should also conclude about the disputed case.

Justifying beliefs

One would need to give reasons that show not why one does, in fact, believe something but why one should believe it.

The philosophical study of aesthetics

Philosophers ask basic or foundational questions about art and objects of beauty

Philosophy os science

Philosophers ask whether scientific knowledge gives us a picture of reality as it is, whether progress exists in science, and whether the scientific method discloses truth.

Philosophy of law

Philosophers seek to understand the nature of law itself, the source of its authority, the nature of legal interpretation, and the basis of legal responsibility.

In a sound argument the ___________ are true and the conclusion follows from them.

Premises

___________________ are not justifying reasons.

Rationalizations

Michael Ruse (sociobiologist)

Sociobiology tends not to be objectivist. The sociobiologist bases their study of morality on objective facts in the world, the sociobiologist does not think that moral judgements represent moral facts. This sociobiologist puts it: "Objective ethics, in the sense of something written on tablets of stone (or engraved on God's heart) external to us, has to go. The only reasonable thing that we, as sociobiologists, can say is that morality is something biology makes us believe in, so that we will further our evolutionary ends. " Introduced the distinction between intrinsic and instrumental goods.

Descriptive judgements in:

Sociology, Psychology

Normative (evaluative/moral) judgements

State whether facts are good or bad, just or unjust, right or wrong. Judgements "place a value," negative or positive, on some action or practice, such as capital punishment.

Metaethics

Study of moral concepts and the logic of ethical language. Instead of asking whether the death penalty is morally justified, we would ask what we meant in calling something "morally justified" or "good" or "right." We analyze ethical language, ethical terms, and ethical statements to determine what they mean. In doing this, we function at a level removed from that implied by our definition.

Plato

The Ancient Greek philosopher was an objectivist. Argues that there is some concept or idea called "the Good" and that we can compare our subjective moral opinions about morality with this objective standard. Thought that ethics could be taught. He argues that "All evil is ignorance." In other words, we do what is wrong because we do not know or believe it is wrong; and if we truly believe that something is right, we should necessarily do it.

Hume's Law (derived from David Hume's thinking)

The claim that it is illegitimate to derive an "ought" from an "is"

Epistemology

The philosophy of knowledge. Philosophers try to answer questions about what we can know of ourselves and our world, and what it means to know something rather than just to believe it.

Premises

The reasons supporting the conclusion.

Diagram the relationship between ethical theories and moral decision making: Ethical _________ —> Ethical _______________—> Ethical _______________, (Reverse) Ethical _______________—> Ethical _______________—> Ethical ____________

Theory, Principle, Judgement Judgement, Principle, Theory

Instrumental goods

Things that are useful as instruments or tools—we value them as means toward some other end. Ex:Food because it is a means or tool that is used to support life

Conceptual matters

Those that relate to the meaning of terms or concepts

Factual claims (factual grounding)

We need to know what scientific studies have found and whether the studies themselves are well-grounded. To have adequate grounding, we will want to seek out a range of reliable sources of information and be open-minded.

What is ethics?

We tend to think of ethics as the set of values or principles held by individuals or groups. Ethics is a branch of philosophy. It is also called moral philosophy.

Ethics objectivist (Plato)

Will argue that we ought to desire things that are good- with an emphasis on the goodness of the thing-in-itself apart from our subjective responses. Hold that values have an objective reality- that they are objects available for knowledge. Ex: Those who want to ground morality in god, those who defend some form of natural law ethics (which focuses on essential or objective features of bodies and their functions)

Sound argument

a valid argument with true premises. A good argument.

Teleological

adjective used to describe ideas and theories that are focused on goals, purposes, or outcomes (related to consequentialism).

Ethics (or moral philosophy)

asks basic questions about the good life, about what is better and worse, about whether there is any objective right and wrong, and how we know it if there is.

It is important tp be clear about the distinction between _________ and ________ when dealing with moral conflict and disagreement.

facts, values

Non-consequentialism

normative theories that do not focus on consequences of actions but instead on intentions, rules, or principles; examples include deontology, divine command, and natural law (versus consequentialism).

Deontological

normative theory that morality ought to be focused on duties and adherence to rules and imperatives (associated with Kant).

One can recognize the reasons in an argument by their introduction through key words such as....

since, because, and given that.

Descriptive (empirical) claims

state factual beliefs

Intrinsic goods

things that have value in themselves or for their own sake. Ex: life because it is fundamentally valuable

The conclusion of an argument often contains terms such as...

thus and therefore.