Ethical Issues Life Choices Spring 2016 Study Guide for Exam 1 Notes on the Exam The exam will be held on Friday Feb 5 during regular class time The exam will consist of some combination of definitions short and medium length answer You will be responsible for all of the material covered in class as well as that found in the readings The following is intended as a guide to help you know what to focus on in studying for the exam If you are able to provide thorough answers to the following questions you should be in good shape for the exam Hint Remember to think of the readings in terms of 1 the thesis of the argument i e the main point 2 support for the thesis i e the actual argument 3 possible objections focus on those found in the readings and discussed in class and 4 possible responses to the objections Arguments What is an argument A set of statements that include some of those statements premises are offered in support of one of the other statement conclusion Example We should demolish the building conclusion because the experts say it s unsafe premise The statement must be an assertion claim and or declarative statement However it must have a truth value What is the difference between an argument and an explanation Argument s goal to show THAT some statements are true Evidence is needed Example Susan is screaming because her cat just committed suicide Explanation s goal to show WHY some statements are true Cause is needed Example Susan will succeed in business because she is smart What is the difference between deductive and inductive arguments Deductive argument an argument that is supposed to give logically conclusive support to its conclusion Has to be valid sound Doesn t matter if it is true or false but must offer a truth value Inductive argument an argument that is supposed to offer probable support to its conclusion Has to be possibly true Gets evaluated by strong or weak Example weak argument because of a small sample size If you change all in the conclusion to most which means more than in this class it is still considered a weak argument However if you change all to some then it is a very strong argument My cat has a tail My parents cat has a tail My sister s cat has a tail So all cats have a tail 1 Structure 1 A is similar to B share properties of each other 2 A has property P 3 B has property P What is a valid argument Focuses on the structure of the argument A valid argument is one where IF all of the premises are true then the conclusion must be true It s impossible for all of the premises to be true and then the conclusion is false Example All dogs are robots Muffin is a dog Muffin is a robot What is a sound argument A sound argument is a valid argument where all of the premises are true in actuality An argument has to be valid for it to be sound If an argument is invalid then the argument is unsound The example above used for valid argument is unsound because not all dogs are robots in actuality What is the difference between descriptive statements and normative statements Descriptive statement makes an assertion that is offered as a statement of the facts that pertain in reality The scientific study of moral beliefs and practices aims to describe and explain how people actually behave and think when dealing with moral issues and concepts What do people think is right Normative statement one that states some value or evaluative rule as a stand of other judgments How should people act or how one ought to act morally speaking Essentially establish the soundness of moral norms especially the norms embodied in a comprehensive moral system or theory What are moral arguments What do moral arguments in particular need to succeed Why Moral arguments an argument with a moral claim for the conclusion A type of normative claim ought to be should be If the conclusion of an argument is a moral claim then at least one of the premises must be a moral claim and at least one premise must be a non moral statement about a state of affairs usually a specific type of action Example 1 Not using every medical means available to keep a seriously ill newborn infant alive is allowing the infant to die Non moral claim a specific type of action 2 Allowing terminally ill newborn infants to die is wrong Moral claim 3 Therefore not using every medical means available to keep a seriously ill newborn infant alive is wrong Moral claim of conclusion It is impossible to derive infer a claim about the way things ought to be or should be based solely on the way things are In general there are two main ways to criticize an argument What are they 1 Show that some at least 1 premises are false 2 2 Show that even if all the premises are true they fail to adequately support the conclusion Look at this argument 1 Carl saw Lindsay steal the book on Friday 2 Carl s testimony is very reliable 3 Lindsay stole the book on Friday Objection attempts to show that an argument fails to adequately support its conclusion Carl s a pathological liar Carl didn t say that Counterargument offers reasons an argument for thinking that the conclusion of some argument is false Lindsay died on Wednesday Dead people don t steal stuff So Lindsay didn t steal the book on Friday Ethical Relativism This provided premises a conclusion Be able to explain the following views and how they differ from one another moral objectivism moral absolutism subjective relativism and cultural relativism Moral objectivism objective moral truths facts norms for everyone universal Moral absolutism objective principles are ridged rules that have no exceptions or those they must be applied in exactly the same way in every situation and every culture Subjective realism individual s moral beliefs A person s approval of an action makes it right for that person moral rightness becomes a matter of personal taste Cultural realism a culture s set of dominant moral beliefs What objections does Vaughn raise against subjective relativism Individuals are morally infallible and that genuine moral disagree between individuals is nearly impossible Example What if someone said based on their beliefs It s raining in Paris now And it s not raining in Paris now This is a contradiction all contradictions are necessarily false What is the main argument for cultural relativism considered by Vaughn Beliefs about the rightness wrongness of particular differs from culture to culture actions The rightness wrongness of particular actions varies from culture to culture
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