Phil 230 Midterm

ethical subjectivism

(i) ethical judgements are simply people's subjective feelings, or are simply based on people's subjective feelings about what is right and wrong (ii) there are no objective truths about what is morally right/wrong, good/bad, only the different subjective views of different individuals

pleasure-button counterexample to hedonism

1) hedonistic utilitarianism recommends that we maximize pleasure and minimize pain 2) the bet way to do this would be to hook everyone up to a pleasure button 3) it is absurd to think that the best world would be one where everyone is hooked to a pleasure button 4) hedonistic utilitarianism is absurd

kantian argument for the claim that all moral requirements are requirements for reason

1) moral principles must be equally binding on all persons 2) only principles of reason are equally binding on all persons 3) therefore, moral principles must be (or must be founded on) underlying principles of reason

utilitarianism (rachel's definition)

1) the morality of an action depends solely on its consequences 2) an action's consequences matter only insofar as they involve the greater or lesser happiness of individuals 3) in evaluating consequences, each individual's happiness receives equal consideration

divine command theory

1) the only reason that can be given as explanation for the fact that the actions that are right are right is that God commanded those actions and not others 2) if God had commanded other actions - any any other actions at all - then those actions would have been right instead 3) there was no antecedent standard of right/wrong that influenced or determined God's will

natural law theory

1) things in us and in the world around us have purposes 2) these purposes are discoverable by reason 3) it is wrong to use things for purposes other than their proper purpose

kant's categorical imperative

1) universal law formulation: act only such that you could will the mixim on which you act as a universal law 2) humanity imperative: act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person of that of another, always as an end in itself, and never as a means only

"near and dear" objection to utilitarianism

1) utilitarianism implies that we should be indifferent to the identities of people we might help when deciding what to do 2) we have a right to give special preference to those who are near and dear to us 3) since utilitarianism denies this, utilitarianism must be false

Immanuel Kant argues that A. we should never treat people as mere means, but always as ends in themselves B. We should always act on those rules (maxims) that will produce the best result for everyone (Rule Utilitarianism) C. to act morally, we should be compassionate to others and sympathize when they are in a bad situation D. God's divine will show us, by intuitive revelation, that the categorical imperative is the fundamental principle of morality E. All of the above

A. we should never treat people as mere means, but always as ends in themselves

Hedonism is the view that A. actions are right if and only if they produce the greatest good for the greatest number B. Outcomes are good when they include more pleasure than pain C. outcomes are good when they produce more overall human flourishing, even if those who flourish experience less pleasure than they might D. outcomes are right if and only if they are the result of actions done in accordance with principles (maxims) that involve treating person as ends in themselves, not as a mere means

B. Outcomes are good when they include more pleasure than pain

Which of the following statements is true? A. if true, psychological egoism would provide evidence that ethical egoism is also true B. if psychological egoism and ethical egoism are both true, then everyone behaves rightly all the time C. psychological egoism is inconsistent with ethical egoism, they cannot both be true

B. if psychological egoism and ethical egoism are both true, then everyone behaves rightly all the time

If you know that an argument is deductively valid, then you know that: A. the premises are true, and the argument is truth-preserving B. the premises may or may not be true, but if they're true then the conclusion is true too C. the conclusion of a valid argument is true and well-supported by the premises D. all of the above E. none of the above are true

B. the premises may or may not be true, but if they're true then the conclusion is true too

Which of the following is a true statement about the Divine Command Theory? A. if DCT is true, then God commands right acts because God is good B. if DCT true, then God cannot help acting rightly because of God's essential nature C. If DCT is true, then God's commands are arbitrary and unprincipled

C. If DCT is true, then God's commands are arbitrary and unprincipled

Ethical subjectivism is the view that A. we are all ethical subjects - that is, we are the authors of our own choices, and must make ethical decisions for ourselves B. all creatures that have subjective mental states, including people and animals too, are appropriate subjects of moral obligation C. Moral judgements are not objective judgements, since they are made true or false, in part, by our thoughts and attitudes D. when people make moral judgements they are usually wrong and non-objective, because our conclusions derive from our own subjective perspective

C. Moral judgements are not objective judgements, since they are made true or false, in part, by our thoughts and attitudes

Which of the following is an accurate statement of rule utilitarianism? A. We should always act on those rules that we could will as universal law B. we should always act so that our actions produce the greatest good for the greatest number C. we should always act on those principles which, if followed by everyone, would produce the greatest good for the greatest number D. we should always act on those principles which, if followed, would avoid practical contradictions of the will

C. we should always act on those principles which, if followed by everyone, would produce the greatest good for the greatest number

eudaimonia

Greek word meaning "flourishing." usually associated with Aristotle's ideal of complete human happiness

denying the antecedent

If X then Y. Not X. Therefore, not Y. invalid argument

modus toliens

If X then Y. Not Y. Therefore, not X. valid argument

modus ponens

If X then Y. X. Therefore, Y. valid argument

affirming the consequent

If X then Y. Y. Therefore, X. invalid argument

abductive argument ("abduction")

a form of non-deductive inference, also called "inference to the best explanation" in which a hypothesis is supported on the ground that it is the best explanation for some observed phenomenon

inductive argument ("induction")

a non-deductive argument in which characteristics of individuals not in a sample are inferred from the characteristics of individuals in a sample

argument

a set of statements, some of which serve as premises, one of which serves as a conclusion, such that the premises purport to give evidence for the conclusion

premise

a statement that purports to give evidence for the conclusion

consequentialism

actions are right if and only if (or to the extent that) they have good consequences

utilitarianism

actions are right if and only if (or to the extent that) they maximally promote happiness and minimize unhappiness (GHGN - greatest happiness for the greatest number)

hedonist utilitarianism

actions are right iff (if and only if) they maximize pleasurable sensations and minimize painful ones - pleasure over pain (pleasure-button counterexample)

psychological egoism

all our voluntary actions are selfish

standard form

an argument is in standard form iff (if and only if) its premises are listed and numbered in a list, with the conclusion as the last numbered item in the list

soundness

an argument is sound iff (if and only if) it is deductively valid and its premises are true

deductively valid argument

an argument that has the property that if the premises are true, then the conclusion cannot be false

fallacy

an argument that provides the illusion of support, but no real support, for its conclusion

emotivism

evaluative judgements, including moral judgements, are nothing more than people's expression of their emotional reactions to the objects identified in their judgements

Good abductive arguments are valid

false

a valid argument can have true premises and a false conclusion

false

error theory

moral statements are statements that appeal to moral facts that don't exist, so they are all false

best reasons view (rachels)

moral truths are matters of reason, such that a moral judgement is true if it is backed up by better reasons than the alternatives. moral truths are, in this sense, objective in the sense that they are true independently of what we might want or believe

nihilism

no actions are wrong or right, there is no value of wrong/right, bad/good, because values are not real

ethical egoism

people should always act selfishly

conclusion

the statement in an argument that is supposedly supported by the evidence

cultural relativism

the view that different cultures have different moral values (it is clear that cultural relativism is true - it is an empirical theory, not a moral theory)

moral relativism

there is no universal standard for moral right or wrong, only the merely contingent values of different cultures (it is not clear if moral relativism is true or not)

evidence

to say that a statement A is evidence for another statement B is to say that if A were true, this conclusion would provide some reason to believe that B is true

A valid argument can have a false conclusion

true

A valid argument can have false premises

true

A valid argument can have false premises and a false conclusion

true

A valid argument can have false premises and a true conclusion

true

According to Error theorist, the statement "it is wrong to steal from other people" is false

true

rule utilitarianism

we should use the principle of utility to evaluate RULES FOR ACTION, and should act according to those rules which would have the best consequences if followed by everyone

act utilitarianism

we should use the principle of utility to evaluate actions against one another, and should choose the one with the best utilitarian consequences