Ethics Exam

Haidt's theory

Derive a moral conclusion -> think about reasons Judgement -> reason Seems to say that we shouldn't care about how we deliver in the first place (solitary reasoner or individual) Doesn't think we should give up moral deliberation

Descriptive ethics

Empirical study of the application, use, understanding, or formulation of moral concepts in the real world. Is there a right thing to do?

To what kind of logic does validity belong?

Deductive logic

stipulative definition

Defines a term by declaring how that term will be used in a particular context. Terms we make up

Ostensive definition

Defines terms by showing

What is moral dumbfounding?

where people have strong moral reactions, but have no logical reasoning to explain their feelings

What is Nietzsche trying to get us to see with the use of eternal recurrence?

would you be happy with the idea that you have to live your life over or would you want to change things/not be so nice to everyone/do whatever you want all the time?

Is Nietzsche an ethical nihilist?

yes, he believes we should reject what we think is morally right or wrong because it holds us back from being our true selves ex: eternal recurrence thought experiment

What are the 3 versions of error theory nihilism?

1. Falsification 2. Abolitionism we ought to abolish morality entirely from our thinking and form our own deliberations about actions 3. Exceptionalism - being different from the norm

2 kinds of logic

1. Inductive 2. Deductive

What are the four reasons that abolitionists provide to show that morality is bad for us?

1. Limits freedom 2. Falsification - forces us to falsify our problems and to redescribe our problems 3. Intractability - leads to unsolvable problems. turns things into black and white, right and wrong 4. Interventionalism - wrong people involved. people who think they have moral truth

Examples of descriptive ethics

1. Moral psychology 2. Organizational ethics 3. Investigative ethics

What are the 3 main branches of Ethics?

1. meta-ethics 2. normative ethics 3. applied ethics

2 ways arguments can be good or bad

1. structure 2. content Evidence has to be good. Evidence has to lead to conclusion

Departments other than philosophy that may study descriptive ethics

Criminal justice, psychology

What is an argument?

A set of claims (premises) meant to support a single claim

What is the definition of soundness?

An argument is valid if its conclusion logically follows from its premises. validity + all true premises an argument is sound if and only if it has valid structure and all the premises

Who argues that ethics and logic inseparable?

Corcoan

What is the Ring of Gyges?

Glaucon's story, morality is a social convention practiced by the weak, anyone given the power to escape social sanctions would be foolish to practice justice, the rational person once unconcerned with social punishment is always perfectly unjust

How do you think Haidt and his defenders might reply to this criticism? Is there any way in which Haidt's account might help us improve or encourage moral discourse?

Haidt would agree that there's little reason to be concerned with the quality of our moral discourse because it denies that moral reasoning can be effectively done by the solitary reasoner

What is the Heinz Dilemma and what does Kohlberg want to learn by using it?

Heinz dilemma: about stealing the life saving drugs, he learns the psychology of how people come to their conclusions, connected with moral development, this explains common sense view about moral reasoning, think about reasons then derive a moral conclusion

Structure

How the truth of the premises are related to or support the truth of the conclusion

What is an example of a lexical definition?

Looking up a word to see how it is defined in the dictionary. Word: Rizz Definition: A shortened term for charisma, having charisma or charm and using that to flirt with someone

Normative ethics

Moral theory, applied ethics, what ought to be. What is the right thing to do?

In what way or way's is Nietzsche's account different from Kohlberg's?

Nietzsche says we don't value morality because it holds us back, all being is will to power

What is the ubermensch?

Nietzsche's idea of a superhuman who was free from human rules and could truly experience life. Nietzsche believed society's only hope was to be led by a few of these ubermensch.

What is an example of an ostensive definition?

Presenting a project in class and using pictures as examples for what you're talking about

Metaethics

Questions about moral questions, what is it to be

What is the Disastrous Results Argument?

The argument suggests that the existence of evil and suffering in the world is incompatible with the idea of a loving and all-powerful God, and that this contradiction leads to disastrous results for the belief in God. if error theory is true then abolitionism is true and if abolitionism is true then disastrous results will follow and if a theory has disastrous results then we must reject it

What is the definition of validity?

The property of a deductive argument such that if the premises are true, the conclusion cannot be false

Ethics

The study of the right, the good, and the virtue and the relationships between them

What is Rational Deliberation?

There might not be a "right" answer (ex: the trolley problem)

Content

What the premises are about or what they assert

How would an abolitionist reply to the Disastrous Results Argument?

Would disagree because disastrous results argument states that if people don't follow morals and let that govern how they act, there would be complete chaos

What is an abolitionist?

a person who favors the abolition of a practice or institution, especially capital punishment or (formerly) slavery.

Lexical definition

a set of premises meant to support one conclusion

What is "Eternal Recurrance?"

a thought experiment that suggests that the universe and all existence in it have repeated, and will continue to repeat, infinitely and endlessly. a demon comes to you at night and says you have to live this exact life over and over again.

What is the premise-conclusion form?

a way of representing an argument in which the premises, or reasons given in support of a conclusion, are presented before the conclusion itself. In this form, the argument is typically presented as follows: Premise 1: [Statement providing evidence or reasons for the conclusion] Premise 2: [Another statement providing evidence or reasons for the conclusion] ... Premise n: [Final statement providing evidence or reasons for the conclusion] Conclusion: [Statement that follows logically from the premises]

What do you think "the last man" would say in response to the demon?

we don't value morality because it stops us from being our true selves -the last man would say "oh well" or state that their life hasn't been all that bad so they wouldn't want to change it because he is satisfied with the mundane and when faced with this choice of either continuing to be mundane or being our true selves, he simply blinks

In Crime and Punishment, what does Raskolinkov think that all "great men" have in common?

all great men are criminals because they have the power and conviction to break down old laws and build new ones

Some critics may claim that, if Haidt is correct, we have little reason to be concerned with the quality of our moral discourse, since his view seems to entail that moral reasoning is not particularly important. Explain why a critic might hold such a view.

critics would hold that view because through Haidt's vignettes, it shows that we put our opinions and judgements before morals and it is only after we have made these judgements that we try to find reasons why it is morally wrong but can't think of anything...therefore we find our own personal opinions more important than the actual morals being questioned

Haidt's fart spray

determines that the severity of our moral judgements can be influenced by the conditions of our deliberations

Moral discourse

directs attention to ways of thinking and acting about morality

In Fight Club, what is the significance of the chemical burn?

example of falsification: redefining our problems

Raskolnikov vs Durden

exceptionalism- most people require slave morality to guide actions because they aren't capable of doing great things but exceptional people cannot be bound by conventional moral restrictions because in order to be great you must also be immoral

What are the two main versions of ethical nihilism?

expressivism: all moral statements are performative utterances error theory: no normative moral truths, refutes entire domains of discourse on the grounds that these domains rest on error

Explain, in your own words, how this idea is supposed to show us that morality is bad for us.

falsification distracts us from the true root of the issue...morality does the same when people argue about moral issues there is always something deeper that is the real issue but morality makes it appear as though we are on different sides of an argument

When Gyges (Gyges' ancestor) climbs into the hole, what does he find first?

first finds a wooden horse with a door in it, and a corpse... reminds the reader of the trojan war. Gyges takes a ring off of a corpse and it allows him to become invisible

Based on these two tasks, what do you think are three traits or virtues that are important for being a winsom disruptor?

good listener, open minded, and respectful

What is the difference between inductive and deductive logic?

inductive: premises show conclusion is probably true deductive: premises guarantee conclusion is true

Book by JL Mackie

inventing right and wrong

What is the difference between a lexical definition and an ostensive definition?

lexical: set of premises meant to support one conclusion ostensive: define terms by showing/pointing it out

Example of a question that is representative of the kind of question that applied studies

moral concepts in the real world

Example of a question that is representative of the kind of question that normative studies

moral theory (what ought to be?)

What are the 3 types of characters that Nietzsche thinks are possible in the modern world?

moralist: lives life striving to be a good person, last man: lives an empty life and is satisfied with that ubermensch: rejects moral constraints and embraces possibility of eternal recurrence

How does he use will to power to explain why moralism is committed to self-negation?

morality encourages us to "say no" to your being and is the denial of your will to power

What does he mean by saying that slave morality is itself an expression of will to power?

most people require "slave morality" to guide their actions because they aren't capable of doing great things

What are the two big ways Vitale suggests we can undertake to begin the difficult work of becoming a winsome disruptor?

need winsome disruptors to stop the spiral, fill in civic ruts, and throw out existing outrage scripts

What does ethical nihilism hold?

no moral truths, expressivism (all moral statements are performative utterances), and error theory (refutes entire domains of discourse because they rest on error)

What is the difference between a normative claim and a descriptive claim?

normative claim: moral theory and applied ethics descriptive claim: organizational ethics, application of moral concepts in the real world

Durden

only when we've lost everything we're free to do anything. stop being moral because life will be better

In what way or ways does Nietzsche's answer to the question "why are people moralists?" resemble Kohlberg's theory?

people strive to be good because of moral conditioning, to satisfy others, for their own social standing, or to please God......connects to Kohlberg bc it shows people think about other interacting things before making a moral decision

What does it mean to say that all moral statements are mere performative utterances?

performative utterances have no truth-value, neither true nor false, ex: "abortion is wrong"

What is self-negation?

philosophical concept that refers to the act of denying or renouncing one's own existence, identity, or individuality

What, according to Nietzsche, is the will to power?

to be is to will to power, an attempt to dominate a space, to drive and overcome, make one's mark on the world

Deductive reasoning

premises guarantee conclusion is true

Example of a question that is representative of the kind of question that metaethics studies

questions about moral questions (what is it to be?)

What is deductive logic?

reasoning from general to specific

Inductive reasoning

show premises, provide good reasons for believing conclusion is probably true

What does Haidt think that the experience of moral dumbfounding shows about moral reasoning?

the experience Haidt believes demonstrates that Kohlberg has it backwards, we make judgements based on our own opinions and then find moral excuses for our feelings, shows that it encouraged moral deliberation because it denies that moral reasoning can be effectively done by the solitary reasoner

What is error theory nihilism, and what, according to it, is the fundamental error on which all moral discourse rests?

the fundamental error that all moral discourse rests on is that there are objective moral truths

What is nihilism?

the rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless

What is an error theory?

theory that a certain area of discourse is wrong because it rests on ideas that are wrong. no normative moral truths

Why is this necessary for greatness, according to Raskolinkov?

they cannot be bound by conventional moral restrictions because without immorality, one cannot achieve greatness

What is a winsome disruptor?

things or phrases that stop unproductive conversation from happening and promote productive connections through discourse

Kohlberg's theory

think about reasons -> derive moral conclusion no reasons why we can say it is wrong -> no judgement or say its okay

What do you think Plato might be telling us about the role of poets like Homer by introducing this image in his story?

this shows the reader that they don't really care about morals, it's more about the repercussions and getting caught.. but if you are invisible and are able to do whatever you want, then you don't worry about stealing/lying/being immoral etc.