course summary notes
CHAPTER 1 Ethics & ethical reasoning
Ethics as a set of guidance/principles/norms which shows we how should we act, how should we choose, how should we live.
Argument: a group of statements (premises: basis of conclusion) which are claimed to provide support/reasons for the other statement
3 kinds of arguments
Deductive argument: premises are clamed to support the conclusion in such a way that it is impossible for the premises to be true, the conclusion false. Conclusion is claimed to follow necessarily from premises
Invalid argument: possible for the premises to be true & conclusion false
Soundness = a deductive argument that is valid & has all true premises
Valid ≠ sound; e.g. all women have ear-holes; Joyce is a womanJoyce has a ear-hole sound must be = valid
Inductive argument: premises are claimed to support the conclusion in such a way that it is improbable (不太可能唔等impossible) the premises be true & conclusion false. Conclusion is claimed to follow only probably from premises
Argument from analogy/ analogical reasoning: reasoning that depends on a comparison of instances (有相似地方因而推論兩者相似,但不一定準確) - Sufficiently similar instances good no right/ wrong Fallacy = a defect in an argument that consists in something other than merely false premises Informal fallacy = can be detected only through analysis of content of argument e.g. all trees are plants; all plants are buildings; all trees are buildings valid but not sound
Ethical relativism: ethical values/ beliefs are relative to various individuals/societies no objective right/wrong
2 kinds of moral relativism
personal/ individual ethical relativism - ethical judgments/ beliefs are the expressions of moral outlook & attitudes of individual persons - personal choices e.g. homosexuality - people are isolated; choices would not affect others e.g. what cloths we wear
Social/cultural ethical relativism - ethnical values vary from
Ethics as a set of guidance/principles/norms which shows we how should we act, how should we choose, how should we live.
Argument: a group of statements (premises: basis of conclusion) which are claimed to provide support/reasons for the other statement
3 kinds of arguments
Deductive argument: premises are clamed to support the conclusion in such a way that it is impossible for the premises to be true, the conclusion false. Conclusion is claimed to follow necessarily from premises
Invalid argument: possible for the premises to be true & conclusion false
Soundness = a deductive argument that is valid & has all true premises
Valid ≠ sound; e.g. all women have ear-holes; Joyce is a womanJoyce has a ear-hole sound must be = valid
Inductive argument: premises are claimed to support the conclusion in such a way that it is improbable (不太可能唔等impossible) the premises be true & conclusion false. Conclusion is claimed to follow only probably from premises
Argument from analogy/ analogical reasoning: reasoning that depends on a comparison of instances (有相似地方因而推論兩者相似,但不一定準確) - Sufficiently similar instances good no right/ wrong Fallacy = a defect in an argument that consists in something other than merely false premises Informal fallacy = can be detected only through analysis of content of argument e.g. all trees are plants; all plants are buildings; all trees are buildings valid but not sound
Ethical relativism: ethical values/ beliefs are relative to various individuals/societies no objective right/wrong
2 kinds of moral relativism
personal/ individual ethical relativism - ethical judgments/ beliefs are the expressions of moral outlook & attitudes of individual persons - personal choices e.g. homosexuality - people are isolated; choices would not affect others e.g. what cloths we wear
Social/cultural ethical relativism - ethnical values vary from