Ethics Test 1

Heathwood's response to the Bundy example

Bundy does benefit (until he's caught), but what he did is still morally wrong

By following the CC definitions, student rules such as "Students should not cheat" are ___________, but they are treated as facts because they are true.

opinions

(Wolf Hybrid View) point against Hedonism & Desire-Satisfaction Theory

people who have enjoyed their lives and gotten what they wanted but still worry about whether their lives have been worthwhile

Factors considered in knowing if an item is intrinsically valuable

pleasure significant achievement important knowledge autonomy appreciating beauty living a morally good life friendship

Hedonism

pleasure and avoiding pain are the only things that are intrinsically valuable

objection to Heathwood (1)

when someone wants they wrong things, they don't benefit from satisfying those desires ex: Ted Bundy wanted to kill people, did he benefit?

Strawman Fallacy

Misrepresenting someone's argument to make it easier to attack, making fun of it Doctrine of Swine is turning Hedonism into a strawman fallacy, not taking serious human pleasure

subjective theories

Hedonism (Mill) and Desire-Satisfaction Theory (Heathwood)

What is Mill's response to the doctrine of swine objection?

Hedonism only says that pig-like pleasure is good if our own pleasure is like a pigs pleasure, but we enjoy higher pleasures

worthwhile activities

How do we know whether activities are worthwhile? uses intuitive examples, gives no theory

objective

based on fact, doesn't depend on anyone's opinion not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts

intrinsically (valuable)

belonging to a thing by its very nature fundamentally in an essential or natural way

higher pleasure test

figuring out which pleasures people actually prefer over others need competent judges - people who have experienced and appreciated both pleasures

redefining self-interest

for Wolf, actions in self-interest involves finding meaningful pursuits, not just ones that bring happiness/pleasure

For some ethicists, what is _______ determines what is right.

good

canidates for what benefits us

happiness, knowledge, love, freedom, friendship

"Doctrine of Swine"

historical objection to hedonism pleasure isn't noble; prioritizing pleasure might be a good theory of pigs, but not for humans -seeking knowledge? -connection to a higher power? -helping others?

active euthanasia

intentional termination of life

fact (common core definition)

something that is true and can be tested or proven

instrumentally (valuable)

something valued for it's function

"Active and Passive Euthanasia" Rachels - what is he trying to prove?

that the AMA doctrine that says 'passive euthanasia is sometimes permissible but active euthanasia is always wrong' is problematic

Mill quote defending Hedonism to doctrine of swine

"It is not supporters of hedonism, but their accusers, who represent human nature in a degrading light, since the accusation supposes human beings to be capable of no pleasures of which swine are capable"

What does an overwhelming majority say about moral claims?

"moral claims are opinions that are not true, or are true only relative to a culture"

two possible views on welfare

- objective view - we want certain things because they're good for us, they're intrinsically valuable - subjective view - (Heathwood's preferred view) certain things benefit us because we want them something can only benefit us when we have an interest in it, want it, or have some other positive attitude about it

desire theory (Heathwood)

-Heathwood's version of the subjunctive view -someone benefits when they satisfy their desire, and they are harmed when desires aren't fulfilled

What are Rachels' reasonings for arguing against the AMA doctrine?

-The justification for allowing PE is that we want to avoid suffering, but PE sometimes results in more suffering that AE -The conventional doctrine leads to decisions concerning life and death made on irrelevant grounds -killing and letting die is morally equivalent

problems the experience machine presents for hedonism

-if pleasure is all that matters, then the experience machine gives us everything that matters -but "contact with reality" matters, and hedonism can't explain this

counterexample to objective benefits

-cases in which someone has a 'good' thing, but doesn't want it -do they benefit from having the 'good' thing? -if not, then you must also WANT the good thing in order to benefit from it

Experience Machine

-electrodes can connect to your brain to give you any experience that you can choose in advance -you wouldn't know you're in the machine -you're passively being given experiences not making choices in the machine

Susan Wolf - Hybrid view

-gives another objective list view -focuses on one objective factor (meaning, self-interest)

Objective List Theory (Hooker)

-multiple factors are intrinsically valuable, aside from pleasure caused or desires fulfilled -how can we know if an item is intrinsically valuable?

What is Nozick's argument against hedonism?

-shows that pleasure/avoiding pain aren't the only intrinsically good things - how? -show that you'd give up some of that good thing to achieve something other than pleasure -experience machine thought experiment

Objection to Heathwood (2)

-some desires are bad, or unbeneficial, to fill -possible response: use idealized desires. Heathwood doesn't like this response, fulfilling idealized desires isn't beneficial if you don't actually have those desires -actual response: having those desires fulfilled frustrates other desires

additional thought experiences

-two identical experiences, one caused by the real world and one caused by the experience machine -according to hedonism, if the two have the same qualities, it shouldn't matter which you choose -but it DOES seem to matter -ex: two identical experiences of a group of friends, one where they genuinely like you, and one where they dislike you but put up with you and you never know they do not like you

objective list theory thought experiment

-two identical lives, except one contains more of some factor than another -if the life containing more of that factor is better, then the factor is intrinsically valuable -must consider rival explanations: -especially whether some factor might just be an instrumental good -example: Is achievement better just because it allows us to find more pleasure?

Strategies for determining intrinsic vs instrumental goods

1 Construct cases where the factor increases without any increase in pleasure or other intrinsic goods -significant achievement after death 2 Ask if we'd want the factor in question even when it reduces other intrinsic goods -sacrificing pleasure to gain more autonomy 3 ask if we'd feel sympathy for someone whose life lacks the factor, even if other intrinsic goods are present

Reasons NOT to plug into the experience machine

1 we want to do certain things, not just have the experience 2 we want to be a certain way, not just have the experience 3 plugging in limits us to a man-made reality (you wouldn't know you were in the machine)

"Why our Children Don't Think There are Moral Facts" McBrayer - what is he trying to prove?

Common core's definitions of fact and opinion are mistaken and lead to faulty assumptions about morality Some claims are facts AND opinions

objective theories

Objective List Theory (Hooker)

Value Theory Ethics

The branch of philosophy that studies and evaluates human conduct What is valuable or good for it's own sake?

normative ethics

The study of the principles, rules, or theories that guide our actions and judgments tries to give principles that determine the rightness or wrongness of any action

subjective

The truth of something depends on someone's opinions Existing in the mind or relating to one's own thoughts, opinions, emotions, etc.; personal, individual, based on feelings

question of welfare

What benefits a person?

Normative Ethics

What makes an action right? normative claims - how things should be descriptive claims - how things actually are gives theories of what makes actions right/wrong

"biting the bullet"

accepting a negative implication of your view, but not wanting to

Robert Nozick

argues against hedonism

John Stuart Mill "Hedonism" - what is he arguing?

arguing for hedonism, by responding to common objections to this view

passive euthanasia

ceasing medical treatment and allowing death to happen

hybrid view

meaning arises when subjective attraction meets objective attractiveness two elements required: -active engagement (subjective) -objects of worth (objective) must have worthwhile activities, and must actively want to engage in them

Heathwood "Fairing Well and Getting What You Want" - what question is Heathwood addressing?

question of welfare - what benefits us, what makes us better off?

applied ethics

the practical application of moral standards analyzes the morality of SPECIFIC kinds of actions

Epistemology

the study of knowledge evidence, justification

Metaethics

the study of the meaning and logical structure of moral beliefs what is morality? how can we know moral truths?

facts vs opinions (common core)

the way common core has defined fact and opinion, opinions do not hold as much weight as facts inconsistency in schools that teach the common core definitions but still present student rules as facts

question of the good life

what makes a life worth living/choosing?

opinion (common core definition)

what someone thinks, feels, or believes

Value Theory

what sorts of things are good? good/beneficial