6 30 15 Thinking About Ethics o RSL Three areas of moral philosophy Value Theory What is the good life Normative Ethics What ought we to do Metaethics What is morality RSL o Offers his own set of bad reasons Individuals disagree about moral issues so there is no objective truth Morals only exist if God exists God does not exist Science tells us about all that exists science does not tell us anything about ethics It is not ok for people to impose their views on others so there is no objective ethical view If there were objective moral rules there would be rules without exceptions but all rules have exceptions so there are no objective moral rules o Science tells us the empirical facts o D the most problematic Many Ways to go Wrong Morality is not o The law o Etiquette o RSL says there are many ways to go wrong in ethical reasoning o It can be hard to know that we have a right conclusion but it can be easy to see that someone else has got it wrong o We can be wrong about our evidence be in contradiction or our conclusion may not follow from our premises for example It seems that the law can be morally wrong ex Laws upholding segregation Sometimes we are right to be rude or otherwise violate our culture s notions of etiquette Ex Civil disobedience o Self interest Sometimes we are obliged to do things that are not in our interest For ex It might be in my interest to cheat you if I am sure I can get away with it but does not seem to be good behavior all else being equal o Tradition The practices of the past may be immoral Ex Slavery Sexism o By morality he does not mean simply what set of values a society has at a point in time Moral Reasoning o Involves 2 things A set of reasons premises A conclusion these reasons support o These 2 things together make an argument o So when we talk about an argument we don t mean this Logical validity o The truth of the premises guarantees the truth of the conclusions RSL s 3 Part test Identify all of the premises Imagine they are all true Can the conclusion be false o Yes invalid o No Valid Validity is not the same thing is truth Soundness o When an argument is valid and its premises are true then it is sound o This lets us evaluate ethical arguments o Consider RSL s argument for eating P1 It is morally acceptable for nonhuman animals to kill and eat C Therefore it is morally acceptable for human beings to kill and other animals eat nonhuman animals Valid means that the truth of the premises guarantees the truth of the conclusion even though the premises may be false Sound means that the argument is valid and the premises are true 7 1 15 In order for an argument to work ex Successfully support the conclusion you are trying to make two things have to be true o 1 the claims it is making its premises must be true o 2 those claims must in fact logically support the conclusion Validity o In a valid argument 2 holds o Here is where it gets unintuitive 2 can hold even if 1 does not That is a valid argument might have false premises o P1 If I hate coffee then I will drink tea o P2 I hate coffee o C I will drink tea Invalid Arguments o These are arguments that are not valid the conclusion does not follow even if the premises are true So validity is about the structure of the argument not the truth of its premises Most arguments made in politics and the media are invalid RSL s 3 Part Test o Identify the premises o Imagine they are true o Could the conclusion possibly be false If the conclusion can still be false it is an invalid argument If the conclusion cannot be false it is valid o It s easy A sound argument is just an argument that works per the first 1 The claims it is making the premises must be true 2 Those claims must in fact logically support the conclusion Soundness slide o Sound P1 I like all of my students P2 you are my students C I like you Objectivity requires absolutism o P1 If moral claims are objectively true then moral rules are absolute o P2 No moral rules are absolute o C Therefore moral claims are not objectively true o P2 may or may not be true o But P1 is false o It might be objectively wrong to lie but still be acceptable to lie in some cases All truth is subjective o P1 there are no objective truths o C Therefore there are no objective moral truths Equal Rights Equal plausibility o Part 1 o P1 if everyone had an equal right to an opinion then all opinions are equally plausible o P2 Everyone has an equal right to his or her moral opinions o C Therefore all moral opinions are equally plausible o P1 All moral opinions are equally plausible o P2 If all moral opinions are equally plausible then ethical objectivism is o Part 2 false o C Therefore ethical objectivism is false o Moral Objectivity supports dogmatism o P1 if there are objective moral standards then this makes dogmatism acceptable o P2 Dogmatism is unacceptable o C Therefore there are no objective moral standards o VALID o Moral objectivity cannot allow for cultural differences o Atheism undermines moral objectivity o P1 Morality can be objective only if God exists o P2 God does not exist o C Therefore morality cannot be objective o Values have no place in a scientific world o P1 if science cannot verify the existence of X then the best evidence tells us that X does not exist o P2 Science cannot verify the existence of objective moral values o C Therefore the best evidence tells us that objective moral values do not 6 2 15 o Euthyphro exist died o A Socratic dialogue o Socrates encounters Euthyphro a priest who is prosecuting his father o His father tied up a slave who had killed someone While bound the slave o Euthyphro thinks it is what the gods want o Divine Command Theory o The arguments in the Euthyphro dialogue are thought to pose a big problem for divine command theory o Divine Command Theory An Act is morally justified just because it is commanded by God and immoral just because God forbids it o P1 If the Bible condemns X then X is wrong o P2 The bible condemns homosexuality o C Therefore homosexuality is wrong o Valid but not sound o Euthyphro Prosecuting wrongdoers is pious o Socrates You agree however that there are many other pious actions o Defintion 2 o Euthyphro tries again Well then what is dear to the gods is pious what is not is impious Here there is a problem unique to polytheism the gods can …
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