Meta-Ethics : lesson 1
**Normative ethical theory tells you what is right , wrong and an account of how you
ought to act
Meta ethics: what ethics actually is – concerned w the status of moral judgements…
moral properties ( what is goodness)
2 big questions in meta ethics:
1. Where do our moral principles come from ?
e.g. a principle like ‘is stealing wrong’ – what is the origin of this
possible answers:
- reason
- emotion/attitudes
- society
2. Are there moral facts ?
e.g. a principle like ‘stealing is wrong’, is not fact – it’s a social concept?
Cognitivism vs Non-Cognitivism
Ethical Cognitivism Ethical Non-cognitivism
- Moral judgements express beliefs - Moral judgements express non-cognitive
- Can be true or false attitudes
- Aim to describe the world - Moral judgements don’t make claims
- E.g. ‘lying is wrong’ = expresses belief about reality
that lying is wrong + is either true of - They are not true or false (they don’t
false state facts
Claims about facts: Art:
e.g. physics, geography etc e.g. visual art, literature, drama, music etc
These are making propositional claims – A piece of art cannot itself be true or false
they can be true or false
, Meta- Ethics : lesson 2
Vocab:
- Cognitivist
- Non-cognitivist
- Realist
- Anti-realist
Ethical Cognitivism
Expressing beliefs that can be true or false.
e.g. lying is wrong …. They’re moral facts
Ethical Non-Cognitivism
Moral judgments do not make claims about reality and are not true or false ( they are
not fact stating)
e.g. lying is wrong… they aren’t moral facts
Moral Realism
Objective moral properties (e.g. ‘goodness’) that exist and are mind-independent
e.g. ‘goodness’
Moral Anti-Realism
There are no mind-independent moral properties
e.g. ‘goodness’
** most metaethical theories are cognitivist + realist or/ non-cognitivist + anti-realist
Moral Naturalism pt1 (cognitivist + realist)
- Naturalism : moral properties (goodness) are natural properties
- Natural properties = relating to the natural world
e.g. ‘goodness’ = a property in the world that we experience
Reductive Naturalism
Moral properties are identical with natural properties…
…Moral properties can be reduced to natural properties
Moral Properties = Natural Properties
Utilitarianism = for of reductive naturalism >>> drawn towards pleasure and repelled from
pain – PSYCHOLOGICAL HEDONISM
E.g. ‘Goodness’ (moral property) = ‘Pleasure’ (natural property)
**Normative ethical theory tells you what is right , wrong and an account of how you
ought to act
Meta ethics: what ethics actually is – concerned w the status of moral judgements…
moral properties ( what is goodness)
2 big questions in meta ethics:
1. Where do our moral principles come from ?
e.g. a principle like ‘is stealing wrong’ – what is the origin of this
possible answers:
- reason
- emotion/attitudes
- society
2. Are there moral facts ?
e.g. a principle like ‘stealing is wrong’, is not fact – it’s a social concept?
Cognitivism vs Non-Cognitivism
Ethical Cognitivism Ethical Non-cognitivism
- Moral judgements express beliefs - Moral judgements express non-cognitive
- Can be true or false attitudes
- Aim to describe the world - Moral judgements don’t make claims
- E.g. ‘lying is wrong’ = expresses belief about reality
that lying is wrong + is either true of - They are not true or false (they don’t
false state facts
Claims about facts: Art:
e.g. physics, geography etc e.g. visual art, literature, drama, music etc
These are making propositional claims – A piece of art cannot itself be true or false
they can be true or false
, Meta- Ethics : lesson 2
Vocab:
- Cognitivist
- Non-cognitivist
- Realist
- Anti-realist
Ethical Cognitivism
Expressing beliefs that can be true or false.
e.g. lying is wrong …. They’re moral facts
Ethical Non-Cognitivism
Moral judgments do not make claims about reality and are not true or false ( they are
not fact stating)
e.g. lying is wrong… they aren’t moral facts
Moral Realism
Objective moral properties (e.g. ‘goodness’) that exist and are mind-independent
e.g. ‘goodness’
Moral Anti-Realism
There are no mind-independent moral properties
e.g. ‘goodness’
** most metaethical theories are cognitivist + realist or/ non-cognitivist + anti-realist
Moral Naturalism pt1 (cognitivist + realist)
- Naturalism : moral properties (goodness) are natural properties
- Natural properties = relating to the natural world
e.g. ‘goodness’ = a property in the world that we experience
Reductive Naturalism
Moral properties are identical with natural properties…
…Moral properties can be reduced to natural properties
Moral Properties = Natural Properties
Utilitarianism = for of reductive naturalism >>> drawn towards pleasure and repelled from
pain – PSYCHOLOGICAL HEDONISM
E.g. ‘Goodness’ (moral property) = ‘Pleasure’ (natural property)
