Notes on Meta Ethics in accordance with the OCR Religious Studies specification. The notes provide information, scholars, ideas and quotes compiled from various resources from both within and outside of the curriculum.
Meta Ethics
‘arguing the toss over the precise meaning of right and wrong while social
chaos and moral havoc is wreaked around them’ Vardy, essentially is it even
relevant to discuss meta ethics in ethics.
Naturalism
- moral statements can be verified through observations and experience and
have naturalistic properties.
- moral absolutes exist
- FH Bradley: our morality is determined by our role in society and fulfilment of
our duties. Humans determine duty by observing society and the community
we belong to. Fulfilling one’s duty is a morally good absolute
- ‘our function as an organ of the social organism.’ Bradley
- ‘what he has to do depends on what his place is, what his function is.’
Bradley
- Phillipa Foot: believed we are naturally inclined to be moral because it helps
us survive as social animals, what she calls an Aristotelian necessity. Evil or
moral wrongs are a natural deficiency. morally good traits like
trustworthiness and loyalty can be verified through observation of how they
benefit the community
- ‘virtues play a necessary part in the life of human beings as do stings in
the life of bees.’ Foot
- ‘we depend on each other as do wolves that hunt in packs.’ Foot
- JL Mackie: the rules are not absolute in themselves as they’re dependent on
what is deemed right/useful for a particular group so the moral decision is
still relative. Mackie believed morality to be based on tradition rather than
absolutist constructs, so they’re still observable but just formed by social
constructs
- ‘how strong a reason, how easily over-ruled by other considerations,
maybe a matter of dispute.’ Mackie
Strengths
1. social behaviours have been found to be important to human nature as good
values benefit humans socially
2. method for gaining knowledge about morality is the same as gaining
scientific knowledge
Weaknesses
1. there is a difference between absolute constructs and social constructs
2. the idea of duty is confining and can be manipulated in a discriminatory and
stereotypical way
3. pleasure should dictate a moral value as many things that are harmful for
mental and physical health can feel good
4. Is-Ought fallacy from Hume. Just because we feel a moral approval of an
action doesn’t mean it is good
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