ethical relativism
its impossible to make a moral judgment because there are no objective standards for making such judgments (standards that apply to everywhere at all times)- too narrow
ethical absolutism
opposing view to ethical relativism, there ARE objective moral standards that apply everywhere at all times. It denies precisely what ethical relativism affirms.
cultural relativism
different cultures do differ in their views on what is morally right, a mere anthropological description where ethical relativism is a meta-ethical claim about the nature of moral judgments
ethical absolutism too narrow?
an ethical absolute, if it is to hold everywhere and at all times, needs to be more formal, not as specific
Kant's Practical Imperative
treat a person always as a person, never merely as a thing"
formal standard
three ethics subcategories
meta-ethics
normative ethics
casuistry
meta-ethics
analyzes certain words or concepts used in ethical contexts, and evaluates normative ethical theories
emotive theory
the word, "good" as used in ethical discourse, meant "I like it" and "bad" means only "I don't like it" (aka "Hiss-boo/hoorah)
normative ethical theory
offers a norm or standard for making moral judgments, together with support for the correctness of that norm. Two broad classifications; consequential or teleological, and deontological
Consequentialist or teleological
theory claims that the moral goodness or correctness of an action (or of a moral rule) depends entirely on the consequences of that action or rule
deontological
theory claims that the moral goodness or correctness of an action (or of a moral rule) depends upon something other than the consequences of that action or moral rule
Casuistry
Approach to ethics that begins by examining a series of concrete cases rather than by trying to deduce the consequences of a moral rule. Use ethics to improve person's character and a moral improvement of the state
formal standard
does not contain highly specific material content.
Golden mean considered formal standard
the good
every human action has a purpose, want to achieve something. Aimed at "the good". According to Aristotle, the final goal is to achieve happiness.
Reason
Speculative: want to know the truth
Practical: what should I know, how should I feel?
Productive
Instrumental good
doing it for the sake f something else
Intrinsic good
good within itself
Golden Mean
The middle way between too much and too little of something. Aristotle held that virtue is always a mean between vicious extremes of excess and deficiency.
epistemology
philosophical study or theory of knowledge (empiricism, rationalism)
empiricism
all our knowledge comes directly or indirectly from sense perception (David Hume)
rationalism
holds that some of our knowledge about reality DOES NOT come directly or indirectly from sense perception (Descarte, Kant)
skepticism
belief that some or ll human knowledge is impossible, since even our best methods for learning about the world fall short of perfect certainty. UNIVERSAL holds that we cannot know anything, PARTIAL holds that there are some things we cannot know, can't be
Cartesianism
setting up a formal system of doubt, that is, of questioning all propositions and conclusions using a formal system. Once one has arrived at a certain piece of knowledge, that piece of knowledge then becomes the basis for clearing up other doubts.
Decartes
tried to refute universal skepticism using Cartesian epistemology. conclusion "I think therefore I am.
Aristotle 3 functions of Rational Capacity
Speculative (to know truth), practical (what should I do, how should I feel?), productive (creating a project)
Ethics concerned with speculative and practical
arete
if something has a functions and does that function well, has ar�te
if one is using reasoning in a speculative way, one is said to have intellectual virtue; if one is using reasoning in a practical way, one is said to have moral virtue. Two types of virtu
Aristotle overall goal in life
reaching happiness, happiness is actin gin accordance to virtue and is all relative to the individual
Friendship and Politics
monarchy: rule of one person (unequal friendships)
democracy: brothers (all have say, good for the whole)
utility friendship necessary in a state (interconnectedness/exchanges)
utility and friendship
men seeking out what is good for them, need something from the other, using someone, incidental-can also end easily (once your done using them), occurs mostly with older people
Pleasure friendship
people enjoy being around friend (closer to friendship of virtue), friendship makes you happy and for yourself, once pleasure ends friendship ends, occurs mostly in young
friendship of virtue
perfect friendship", both men have to be good and love for the same reasons, harder to end, based on goodwill (want the best for the friend), very rare, needs time and attention, learn to trust each other
inequality in friendship
have to love each other for the same reasons, love for one another virtue, has to be equivalent to the merit, person with greater virtue should be loved more, person with less virtue needs to love more to become more virtuous/honorable
breaking off a friendship
pleasure/utility easy to break. in virtuous friendship and you were deceived of their character (someone changes)
descriptive vs. prescriptive judgment
descriptive: this is how it IS
prescriptive: this is how it OUGHT to be
matters of fact vs. questions of value
Distinction between assertions about how things really are (fact) and how things ought to be (value). Moral obligation can never be validly inferred from the truth of factual premises alone. It follows that people who agree completely on the simple descri
Problem concerning descriptive abs prescriptive judgements
you only have things around you that you can describe (is) to do something a person ought to do. Cannot draw prescriptive conclusion from a descriptive statement, only if you draw prescription conclusion from prescriptive statement.
what makes a prescriptive statement true?
According to Adler, if you draw from a prescriptive statement. (going from "is" to "ought
Adler's first principle of moral philosophy
we ought to desire whatever is really good for us and nothing else.
David Hume
the only two objects of the human understanding "matters of fact" and "relations of Ideas" related to Hume's a priori and aposteriori
matters of fact
extends one's knowledge, but the opposite of any matter of fact could possibly be true, there can be no certainty about matters of fact. Based on cause and effect, truth is tested by sense perception (Kant: Analytic a posteriori)
relations of ideas
known by intuitive and demonstrative reasoning. But while you can obtain certainty about relations of ideas, they are not informative (don't extend one's knowledge). If true, necessarily true. (Kant: Synthetic a posteriori)
Leibniz
all reality is comprised of complete individual substances or monads. monads are windowless, invisible centers of intelligence, god being the great monad.
Kant
Kant maintained that synthetic a priori judgments not only are possible but actually provide the basis for significant portions of human knowledge. What is more, metaphysics�if it turns out to be possible at all�must rest upon synthetic a priori judgments
a priori
based upon reason alone, independently of all sensory experience, and therefore apply strict universality, necessarily true if true
a posteriori
grounded upon experience and are consequently limited and uncertain in their application to specific cases
analytic
judgements are those whose predicates are wholly contained in their subjects (add nothing to concept of subject) purely explicative and can be deduced from principle of non-contradiction (2+2=4)
synthetic
judgements are those whose predicates are wholly distinct from their subjects, to which they must be shown to relate because of some real connection external to the concepts themselves. Genuinely informative but require justification by reference to some
Analytic a posteriori
judgments cannot arise, since there is never any need to appeal to experience in support of a purely explicative assertion (Hume: matters of fact)
Synthetic a posteriori
are the relatively uncontroversial matters of fact we come to know by means of our sensory experience (Hume: relations of ideas)
Analytic a priori
everyone agrees, include all merely logical truths and straightforward matters of definition; they are necessarily true.
Synthetic a priori
are the crucial case, since only they could provide new information that is necessarily true. Kant says this is possible, if he can prove this then he can do metaphysics. judgments must be: universal, particular, singular
metaphysics
after physics"... what is real
idealism
only ideas are real
materialism
only matter or physical things are real, claims that everything can be reduced to matter
naturalism
admits the reality if things other than matter, but claims everything depends upon matter, or has a material bases. "consciousness is mental, but cannot occur without matter
solipsism
claims, "the only thing that is real is what I say is real and my thinking is what makes it real
classical realism
there are objective realities both phsyical and intelligible, that exist independently of whether or not anyone thinks if them. The human mind has the capacity to know
an idea of sensation
Berkeley believed that what is perceived through one of the five senses like color, texture, fragrance
esse est percipi: to be is to be percieved
material cause
basic stuff out of which the thing is made
formal cause
the pattern or essence in conformity with which these materials are assembled
efficient cause
the agent or force immediately responsible for bringing this matter and that form together in the production of the thing.
final cause
is the end or purpose for which a thing exists
ethical relativism
its impossible to make a moral judgment because there are no objective standards for making such judgments (standards that apply to everywhere at all times)- too narrow
ethical absolutism
opposing view to ethical relativism, there ARE objective moral standards that apply everywhere at all times. It denies precisely what ethical relativism affirms.
cultural relativism
different cultures do differ in their views on what is morally right, a mere anthropological description where ethical relativism is a meta-ethical claim about the nature of moral judgments
ethical absolutism too narrow?
an ethical absolute, if it is to hold everywhere and at all times, needs to be more formal, not as specific
Kant's Practical Imperative
treat a person always as a person, never merely as a thing"
formal standard
three ethics subcategories
meta-ethics
normative ethics
casuistry
meta-ethics
analyzes certain words or concepts used in ethical contexts, and evaluates normative ethical theories
emotive theory
the word, "good" as used in ethical discourse, meant "I like it" and "bad" means only "I don't like it" (aka "Hiss-boo/hoorah)
normative ethical theory
offers a norm or standard for making moral judgments, together with support for the correctness of that norm. Two broad classifications; consequential or teleological, and deontological
Consequentialist or teleological
theory claims that the moral goodness or correctness of an action (or of a moral rule) depends entirely on the consequences of that action or rule
deontological
theory claims that the moral goodness or correctness of an action (or of a moral rule) depends upon something other than the consequences of that action or moral rule
Casuistry
Approach to ethics that begins by examining a series of concrete cases rather than by trying to deduce the consequences of a moral rule. Use ethics to improve person's character and a moral improvement of the state
formal standard
does not contain highly specific material content.
Golden mean considered formal standard
the good
every human action has a purpose, want to achieve something. Aimed at "the good". According to Aristotle, the final goal is to achieve happiness.
Reason
Speculative: want to know the truth
Practical: what should I know, how should I feel?
Productive
Instrumental good
doing it for the sake f something else
Intrinsic good
good within itself
Golden Mean
The middle way between too much and too little of something. Aristotle held that virtue is always a mean between vicious extremes of excess and deficiency.
epistemology
philosophical study or theory of knowledge (empiricism, rationalism)
empiricism
all our knowledge comes directly or indirectly from sense perception (David Hume)
rationalism
holds that some of our knowledge about reality DOES NOT come directly or indirectly from sense perception (Descarte, Kant)
skepticism
belief that some or ll human knowledge is impossible, since even our best methods for learning about the world fall short of perfect certainty. UNIVERSAL holds that we cannot know anything, PARTIAL holds that there are some things we cannot know, can't be
Cartesianism
setting up a formal system of doubt, that is, of questioning all propositions and conclusions using a formal system. Once one has arrived at a certain piece of knowledge, that piece of knowledge then becomes the basis for clearing up other doubts.
Decartes
tried to refute universal skepticism using Cartesian epistemology. conclusion "I think therefore I am.
Aristotle 3 functions of Rational Capacity
Speculative (to know truth), practical (what should I do, how should I feel?), productive (creating a project)
Ethics concerned with speculative and practical
arete
if something has a functions and does that function well, has ar�te
if one is using reasoning in a speculative way, one is said to have intellectual virtue; if one is using reasoning in a practical way, one is said to have moral virtue. Two types of virtu
Aristotle overall goal in life
reaching happiness, happiness is actin gin accordance to virtue and is all relative to the individual
Friendship and Politics
monarchy: rule of one person (unequal friendships)
democracy: brothers (all have say, good for the whole)
utility friendship necessary in a state (interconnectedness/exchanges)
utility and friendship
men seeking out what is good for them, need something from the other, using someone, incidental-can also end easily (once your done using them), occurs mostly with older people
Pleasure friendship
people enjoy being around friend (closer to friendship of virtue), friendship makes you happy and for yourself, once pleasure ends friendship ends, occurs mostly in young
friendship of virtue
perfect friendship", both men have to be good and love for the same reasons, harder to end, based on goodwill (want the best for the friend), very rare, needs time and attention, learn to trust each other
inequality in friendship
have to love each other for the same reasons, love for one another virtue, has to be equivalent to the merit, person with greater virtue should be loved more, person with less virtue needs to love more to become more virtuous/honorable
breaking off a friendship
pleasure/utility easy to break. in virtuous friendship and you were deceived of their character (someone changes)
descriptive vs. prescriptive judgment
descriptive: this is how it IS
prescriptive: this is how it OUGHT to be
matters of fact vs. questions of value
Distinction between assertions about how things really are (fact) and how things ought to be (value). Moral obligation can never be validly inferred from the truth of factual premises alone. It follows that people who agree completely on the simple descri
Problem concerning descriptive abs prescriptive judgements
you only have things around you that you can describe (is) to do something a person ought to do. Cannot draw prescriptive conclusion from a descriptive statement, only if you draw prescription conclusion from prescriptive statement.
what makes a prescriptive statement true?
According to Adler, if you draw from a prescriptive statement. (going from "is" to "ought
Adler's first principle of moral philosophy
we ought to desire whatever is really good for us and nothing else.
David Hume
the only two objects of the human understanding "matters of fact" and "relations of Ideas" related to Hume's a priori and aposteriori
matters of fact
extends one's knowledge, but the opposite of any matter of fact could possibly be true, there can be no certainty about matters of fact. Based on cause and effect, truth is tested by sense perception (Kant: Analytic a posteriori)
relations of ideas
known by intuitive and demonstrative reasoning. But while you can obtain certainty about relations of ideas, they are not informative (don't extend one's knowledge). If true, necessarily true. (Kant: Synthetic a posteriori)
Leibniz
all reality is comprised of complete individual substances or monads. monads are windowless, invisible centers of intelligence, god being the great monad.
Kant
Kant maintained that synthetic a priori judgments not only are possible but actually provide the basis for significant portions of human knowledge. What is more, metaphysics�if it turns out to be possible at all�must rest upon synthetic a priori judgments
a priori
based upon reason alone, independently of all sensory experience, and therefore apply strict universality, necessarily true if true
a posteriori
grounded upon experience and are consequently limited and uncertain in their application to specific cases
analytic
judgements are those whose predicates are wholly contained in their subjects (add nothing to concept of subject) purely explicative and can be deduced from principle of non-contradiction (2+2=4)
synthetic
judgements are those whose predicates are wholly distinct from their subjects, to which they must be shown to relate because of some real connection external to the concepts themselves. Genuinely informative but require justification by reference to some
Analytic a posteriori
judgments cannot arise, since there is never any need to appeal to experience in support of a purely explicative assertion (Hume: matters of fact)
Synthetic a posteriori
are the relatively uncontroversial matters of fact we come to know by means of our sensory experience (Hume: relations of ideas)
Analytic a priori
everyone agrees, include all merely logical truths and straightforward matters of definition; they are necessarily true.
Synthetic a priori
are the crucial case, since only they could provide new information that is necessarily true. Kant says this is possible, if he can prove this then he can do metaphysics. judgments must be: universal, particular, singular
metaphysics
after physics"... what is real
idealism
only ideas are real
materialism
only matter or physical things are real, claims that everything can be reduced to matter
naturalism
admits the reality if things other than matter, but claims everything depends upon matter, or has a material bases. "consciousness is mental, but cannot occur without matter
solipsism
claims, "the only thing that is real is what I say is real and my thinking is what makes it real
classical realism
there are objective realities both phsyical and intelligible, that exist independently of whether or not anyone thinks if them. The human mind has the capacity to know
an idea of sensation
Berkeley believed that what is perceived through one of the five senses like color, texture, fragrance
esse est percipi: to be is to be percieved
material cause
basic stuff out of which the thing is made
formal cause
the pattern or essence in conformity with which these materials are assembled
efficient cause
the agent or force immediately responsible for bringing this matter and that form together in the production of the thing.
final cause
is the end or purpose for which a thing exists