PHIL 160 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Empirical (descriptive) - Answers - -Concern: what is, was, or will be the case
-Method: discovered through experience: a posteriori
-Expertise: found in the natural and social sciences
-In ethics: Morality in the wide, descriptive sense.
Conceptual (analytic) - Answers - -Concern: meaning
-Method: discovered by reflection upon our thoughts, language, and reasoning: a priori
-Expertise: found in philosophy, philology, cultural anthropology, etc.
-In ethics: What are our key moral concepts, and can they be further analyzed?
Normative (prescriptive) - Answers - -Concern: what ought to be the case, or what
would be good if it were the case.
-Method: ? (example: "intuitions"—are these reliable?)
-Expertise: ? (example: advisor—what makes for a good one?)
-In ethics: Morality in the narrow, normative sense.
Two families of normative vocabulary: Category I - Answers - Category I:
Right, ought, required, permitted, standard, law, norm, regulate, correct
Fit = conforms to rule, satisfies condition, permitted by norm, meets standard
Binary - typically these concepts are "on-off", and paired: e.g., permitted/prohibited,
right/wrong; legal/illegal; correct/incorrect
Voluntary - ought implies can; formal compliance can be required - e.g., Kantian
Two families of normative vocabulary: Category II - Answers - Category II:
Good, valuable, desirable, worthy, beautiful, admired, evident, compelling, plausible,
credible, true, trusted, trustworthy
Fit = "fittingness": appropriate, sought for its own sake, suited, appreciated, endorsed,
enjoyed
Vector - come in different magnitudes, more or less, and with a distinctive direction, pro
or con, for or against, good or bad.
Non-voluntary -
Morality in the wide sense - Answers - Descriptive
, Morality in the narrow sense - Answers - Normative
Impartial - Answers - It does not favor any individuals or group or set of interests above
another
Universal - Answers - it applies eventually to all mature humans, perhaps even all
rational beings
Moral Claim are always - Answers - going to be Normative, not the other way around.
So Normative claims aren't always moral claims.
True apt - Answers - The idea that there is a right thing to do
Two Families of Moral Concepts/Normative Concepts - Answers - Rightness &
Goodness
Rightness - Answers - *The Right* - binary (permitted/prohibited, right/wrong;
legal/illegal; correct/incorrect), rule-based, applies only to actions
Goodness - Answers - *The Good* - comes in degrees, value-based, applies to actions,
experiences, lifetimes, etc.
Moral theory needs to account for both of what? - Answers - The Rightness and
Goodness
What are the two main types of moral theory and where are they derived from? -
Answers - The two main types of moral theory (deontology and consequentialism) follow
from the relationship of these two concepts
Deontology - Answers - The Right is prior to the Good
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-We can know what is right by appeal to reason or intuition, etc.
-That which is right places a constraint upon the pursuit of the good
-But the good can be realized in and through our actions
-Emphasis: duties, what we ought to do
Consequentialist - Answers - The Good is prior to the Right
-----
-We can know what is good by direct appeal to reason and experience—ask what is
desired for its own sake
-Right action is action that promotes the good
-Emphasis: the consequences of actions. Or rules. Or policies. Or practices or
institutions.
Virtue ethicists - Answers - Ideals of moral character are prior to the Right or the Good
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Empirical (descriptive) - Answers - -Concern: what is, was, or will be the case
-Method: discovered through experience: a posteriori
-Expertise: found in the natural and social sciences
-In ethics: Morality in the wide, descriptive sense.
Conceptual (analytic) - Answers - -Concern: meaning
-Method: discovered by reflection upon our thoughts, language, and reasoning: a priori
-Expertise: found in philosophy, philology, cultural anthropology, etc.
-In ethics: What are our key moral concepts, and can they be further analyzed?
Normative (prescriptive) - Answers - -Concern: what ought to be the case, or what
would be good if it were the case.
-Method: ? (example: "intuitions"—are these reliable?)
-Expertise: ? (example: advisor—what makes for a good one?)
-In ethics: Morality in the narrow, normative sense.
Two families of normative vocabulary: Category I - Answers - Category I:
Right, ought, required, permitted, standard, law, norm, regulate, correct
Fit = conforms to rule, satisfies condition, permitted by norm, meets standard
Binary - typically these concepts are "on-off", and paired: e.g., permitted/prohibited,
right/wrong; legal/illegal; correct/incorrect
Voluntary - ought implies can; formal compliance can be required - e.g., Kantian
Two families of normative vocabulary: Category II - Answers - Category II:
Good, valuable, desirable, worthy, beautiful, admired, evident, compelling, plausible,
credible, true, trusted, trustworthy
Fit = "fittingness": appropriate, sought for its own sake, suited, appreciated, endorsed,
enjoyed
Vector - come in different magnitudes, more or less, and with a distinctive direction, pro
or con, for or against, good or bad.
Non-voluntary -
Morality in the wide sense - Answers - Descriptive
, Morality in the narrow sense - Answers - Normative
Impartial - Answers - It does not favor any individuals or group or set of interests above
another
Universal - Answers - it applies eventually to all mature humans, perhaps even all
rational beings
Moral Claim are always - Answers - going to be Normative, not the other way around.
So Normative claims aren't always moral claims.
True apt - Answers - The idea that there is a right thing to do
Two Families of Moral Concepts/Normative Concepts - Answers - Rightness &
Goodness
Rightness - Answers - *The Right* - binary (permitted/prohibited, right/wrong;
legal/illegal; correct/incorrect), rule-based, applies only to actions
Goodness - Answers - *The Good* - comes in degrees, value-based, applies to actions,
experiences, lifetimes, etc.
Moral theory needs to account for both of what? - Answers - The Rightness and
Goodness
What are the two main types of moral theory and where are they derived from? -
Answers - The two main types of moral theory (deontology and consequentialism) follow
from the relationship of these two concepts
Deontology - Answers - The Right is prior to the Good
-----
-We can know what is right by appeal to reason or intuition, etc.
-That which is right places a constraint upon the pursuit of the good
-But the good can be realized in and through our actions
-Emphasis: duties, what we ought to do
Consequentialist - Answers - The Good is prior to the Right
-----
-We can know what is good by direct appeal to reason and experience—ask what is
desired for its own sake
-Right action is action that promotes the good
-Emphasis: the consequences of actions. Or rules. Or policies. Or practices or
institutions.
Virtue ethicists - Answers - Ideals of moral character are prior to the Right or the Good
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