Ethics unit 1 study guide

Because cultural relativists value tolerance and accept the universal right to moral self-determination, they must be tolerant toward controversial practices, if those practices are morally acceptable in the culture in which they occur. T/F

False

Because our intuitions are infallible, a moral theory with counterintuitive consequences can be factual T/F

False

The following is an example of a logically valid argument in support of cultural relativism: Premise 1: Right and wrong means "right for a given society" and "wrong for a given society." Premise 2: What is right and wrong in one society may differ from what is right and wrong in another society. Therefore Conclusion: It is wrong for one society to impose its ideas of right and wrong on another. T/F

False

inductive evidence is sufficient to establish that smoking cigarettes causes lung cancer T/F

False

What two characteristics differentiate a genuine dilemma from a false one?

For a dilemma to be genuine, the two options have to be exclusive and exhaustive.

From a subjectivist view, what does someone really mean when they say "Nelson Mandela was a good person" (46)?

I strongly approve of the character and actions of Nelson Mandela.

What is a paradoxical outcome of the belief that God punishes those who do not act in accordance with divine moral law?

If believers act in accordance with divine moral law because they fear God's punishment, then they are in fact acting out of individual self-interest.

Slave Morality

In Nietzsche's moral philosophy, a morality that takes duties and obligations as primary, so called because it was the morality of the slaves who were not allowed to aspire any higher than mere efficiency and personal comfort.

How is natural law theory a teleological view?

In natural law theory, morality is based on some sort of purpose or meaning in the world.

Maritain uses the analogy of the piano to suggest that, just as pianos can be said to be defective if they do not fulfill their function of producing the right sounds at the right time, so too can human beings be considered defective if they fail to fulfill their function. Which of the following is a potential concern raised by this view?

It is not clear what the function of human beings is.

Argument from Queerness

Mackie's argument that moral properties, understood as non-natural properties, are (metaphysically and epistemologically) puzzling and improbable, which is a reason to believe they do not exist.

Which of the following is a component of the logical argument for moral skepticism that can arise from psychological egoism?

Morality often requires acting against one's self-interest.

What is the skeptical position raised by the myth of the Ring of Gyges?

No one would behave morally if they did not have constraints.

What is the difference between relativism and pseudo-relativism?

Pseudo-relativism posits the existence of at least one universal, cross-cultural value.

What is a difference between psychological egoism and ethical egoism?

Psychological egoism is a descriptive claim about human psychology, while ethical egoism is a moral claim about what we ought to do. d. Psychological egoism is a generic claim about human psychology, while ethical egoism is a scientific claim about how humans act.

Which of the following is a way that a psychological egoist could explain the existence of seemingly selfless or altruistic behavior in the world?

She could show that the behavior in question actually accords with other preferences the agent has, and is not just for the benefit of the other.

What is the difference between the "reason" version of natural law and the "conscience" version of natural law?

The "conscience" version tells you to follow your heart, while the "reason" version tells you to follow your mind.

The following is an example of a logically valid argument Premise 1: Socrates is a dog Premise 2: All dogs have two heads Therefore Conclusion: Socrates has two heads T/F

True

Equivication

Using words that have at least two different definitions to support or refute an issue

The Euthyphro dilemma refers to two possible (and conflicting) answers to which question?

What makes God's commands morally correct?

How does moral nihilism differ from cultural relativism?

While cultural relativism claims that morality is relative to culture, moral nihilism claims that nothing can be morally wrong.

what sense of the term "norm" is implied by the phrase "normative ethics"?

a benchmark or standard

sound argument

a valid argument with true premises

Analogy

A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way

Which of the following is an argument offered by philosophers like Hume and Mill that could be used to argue against the view that homosexuality is immoral because it is unnatural?

Because everything that happens on earth is natural in some sense, it is not possible to characterize homosexuality as unnatural.

Why does Plato believe that a person's behavior might still be consistent with moral goodness even if that person had access to the mythical Ring of Gyges?

Behaving immorally disrupts one's sense of inner harmony, and so an immoral agent would feel guilty even if she were never caught.

Egosim

Conceit; valuing everything according to one's personal interest; excessive confidence in the rightness of one's own opinion.

Which of the following is a problematic assumption of cultural relativism identified by Moody-Adams?

Each group has an agreed-upon moral standpoint with which all of its members agree.

Liberalism

encouragement of diverse ways of living

Which of the following is a type of noncognitivist view?

expressivism

According to J. L. Mackie, saying "Hitler was evil" and "Hitler had black hair" are similar statements, because both attribute objective properties to Hitler. T/F

false

Individual subjectivism is the position that morality is subjective, in the sense that it is unique to each individual culture. T/F

false

Induction

generating evidence to form a hypothesis/ never proof ex: "I've seen many persons with creased earlobes who have had heart attacks, so I conclude that (all) persons who have creased earlobes are prone to have heart attacks."[8]

Which of the following controversial practices does the textbook rely on for an extended discussion of cultural relativism and its attendant problems?

genital cutting

counterintuitive

goes against your gut feeling or common sense

virtues and vices

good/bad

moral intuitions

gut feelings that can drive decisions

premise formula

if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true

formulating a general principle that "all swans are white" on basis of having seen one white swan is an example of what?

induction

Objectivism

insisting a set of practices is true and correct while the rest are wrong

Which of the following is NOT an example of logical fallacy?

soundness

Circular Argument

states a conclusion as part of the proof of the argument

Epistemology

study of knowledge

an argument is said to be logically valid when:

the conclusion logically follows from the premises

Metaphysics

the study of the nature of reality

Objectivism

the view that some moral principles are valid for everyone

Moral Nihilism

the view that there are no moral truths at all

moral realism

the view that values exist in the world

Individual Subjectivism

theory that emphasizes individuals personal feelings, beliefs or opinions as the basis for morality

thick and thin ethical concepts

thin concepts are contrasted with thin

Revaluation of all values

to escape the confusion of moral codes which have concealed from men their biological nature, their will to power

logically valid

to suggest that the argument's premises logically support the argument's conclusion.

A willingness to sacrifice one's own life for two of your brothers or eight of your cousins, as suggested by Haldane, is explained by the theory of kin altruism. T OR F

true

For Aquinas, human reason is necessary to discover natural law.

true

Free riding is problematic for various theories of group altruism because it allows individual selfish actors to benefit from cooperative practices without cooperating themselves. T OR F

true

pseudo-relativism

view that each society has a right to live according to its own values/moral self determination

Form of the Good (Plato)

we will never experience pure good on earth they will all have imperfections the circle imperfection theory

thought experiments

when a situation is described in order to get people to think

Meta-ethics

where the rules of ethics comes from and how we can apply them ex "saying killing someone is not morally wrong nor morally right"

which of the following questions does applied ethics aim to answer?

which moral theory can we use to solve a particular problem?

incorporate relativism by 2 levels

-a level where there is unity" -a level that accepts diversity

Universalization

The spread of culture, trends, customs, and practices around the world. "what if everyone did it?"

Expressivism

The version of moral nihilism that denies that there are any moral features in this world; claims that there is nothing for moral judgments to be true of; and analyzes moral judgments as expressions of emotions, orders, or commitments, none of which are the sorts of things that can be true or false.

Noncognitivism

The view that moral judgments are neither true nor false.

Abduction

accumulation of evidence ex:all swans are white." Or if two-thirds of observed cows are brown, the probability of another cow being brown is assumed to be two-thirds. This is the frequentist definition of probability.

Error Theory

all moral claims are false

"moral core"

all moralities share: the value of cooperation, conflict resolution, and what is good

Emotivism

an ethical theory that regards ethical and value judgments as expressions of feeling or attitude and prescriptions of action, rather than assertions or reports of anything. "ex: cheering for a sports team

Universal Scope

applying to all societies

applied ethics

begins w specific problem then looks for values and other moral standards that will resolve the problem ex: views on abortion

Normative Ethics

contrasts meta ethics, study of practical questions ex "what ought I to do?"

Which logical fallacy would one commit if they assumed that cultural relativism was true, based on the existence of culturally variable practices?

deriving an "ought" from an "is"

Individual Subjectivism

is the view that an act is morally right just because I approve of it and an action is wrong just because i disapprove of it

argument

lending support for a conclusion by reasoning

logic

method of argument

culture relativism

moral truth is relative to a culture or tradition

Commonsense Morality

morality we use in everyday life

There exists a meta-ethical dispute about the nature of moral value, which attempts to resolve the question of whether moral values vary from culture to culture (a view called cultural relativism) or are stable across all cultures. What is this latter view called?

objectivism

Objectivity

personal neutrality in conducting research

logical form

premises and conclusion

particular practices of society

providing detailed rules

Meta Question

questions concerning the nature of value" ex: what does blank mean to you?