Ethics Study Guide
Introduction to Ethics—Study Guide—Test 1
There will be a multiple choice section on the test. If you prepare well for the short answer and essay sections you should not have any problem with the multiple choice section:
Example Question: who thinks that the consequences of an action are the only thing that matters for evaluating actions (a…,b…,c…,d…)?
Some help:
Vocabulary
a priori - Knowledge independent of experience a posteriori - Knowledge dependent on experience analytic - X is true on virtue of meaning alone synthetic - X is not true on meaning alone
Moore
What is goodness? Simple unanalyzable property grasped by intuition.
What is the argument for his view of goodness? Goodness is complex, simple, or non-existence Goodness is not complex: not complex because whatever its parts are would be its meaning. Goodness is non-existent Therefore goodness is simple
What is the open question argument? This is reasoning he gives for step 2. For any definition of goodness, we can always ask of the definition is it good. And that makes it open
What is the role of intuition? It's role is to grasp goodness, because goodness is simple.
Ayer
What is the principle of verifiability? A sentence is a statement if and only if it is either analytic or empirically verifiable. Analytic is true in virtue of meaning alone. Ex: All bachelors are single men Emperically verifiable involves a process to show its validity.
What is emotivism? Ethical utterances are statements of emotion neither true nor false
What is the relationship between the principle of verifiability and emotivism? Saying the statement Emotivism is true according to emotivism is an ethical utterance which is neither true nor false and cannot be varified.
MacIntyre
What is the situation that Mac describes in the first chapter? All of science is lost
What are the three ethical issues that Mac discusses? 1. Abortion 2. War 3. Health care and education
What
There will be a multiple choice section on the test. If you prepare well for the short answer and essay sections you should not have any problem with the multiple choice section:
Example Question: who thinks that the consequences of an action are the only thing that matters for evaluating actions (a…,b…,c…,d…)?
Some help:
Vocabulary
a priori - Knowledge independent of experience a posteriori - Knowledge dependent on experience analytic - X is true on virtue of meaning alone synthetic - X is not true on meaning alone
Moore
What is goodness? Simple unanalyzable property grasped by intuition.
What is the argument for his view of goodness? Goodness is complex, simple, or non-existence Goodness is not complex: not complex because whatever its parts are would be its meaning. Goodness is non-existent Therefore goodness is simple
What is the open question argument? This is reasoning he gives for step 2. For any definition of goodness, we can always ask of the definition is it good. And that makes it open
What is the role of intuition? It's role is to grasp goodness, because goodness is simple.
Ayer
What is the principle of verifiability? A sentence is a statement if and only if it is either analytic or empirically verifiable. Analytic is true in virtue of meaning alone. Ex: All bachelors are single men Emperically verifiable involves a process to show its validity.
What is emotivism? Ethical utterances are statements of emotion neither true nor false
What is the relationship between the principle of verifiability and emotivism? Saying the statement Emotivism is true according to emotivism is an ethical utterance which is neither true nor false and cannot be varified.
MacIntyre
What is the situation that Mac describes in the first chapter? All of science is lost
What are the three ethical issues that Mac discusses? 1. Abortion 2. War 3. Health care and education
What