Theory Description: Normative Ethics

...

Theory Description: Meta-Ethics

There are three main divisions in the philosophy of ethics and one of them is meta-ethics. Meta-ethics focuses on definition, logic, and the nature of morality. Instead of developing a framework to determine morality like normative ethics, meta-ethics seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties, statements, attitudes, and judgments. Simply said, meta-ethics is the meaning of ethical language.

The two views that within meta-ethics are cognitivism and non-cognitivism.

Cognitivists say that moral claims are expressing or attempting to express true or false claims to describe reality. If someone expresses a moral claim, then they are expressing a belief.

There are two branches of cognitivism:

- Relativism:

- Relativists believe when someone makes a moral claim that they are expressing a belief they have about reality

- They say moral judgements express beliefs about something relative and are not objective or universally true

- Branches of relativism: agent, cultural and speaker relativism

- Moral Realism:

- Moral values are true regardless of what the individual thinks.

- Individuals may acquire knowledge about what moral truths are and learn to abide by them.

- Moral values merely describe actions in nature as either good or bad.

- Moral values are not determined or dependent on the individual.

- 1. Naturalism says moral properties are part of the natural world, and can be reduced to natural and non-ethical properties. We observe the world around us and create moral theories to fit our observations.

- 2. Non-naturalism says that moral properties cannot be reduced to non-ethical parts. Moral values are real and independent of nature.

Non-cognitivists do not believe that moral claims are attempts to describe reality. They believe you’re not making claims about the world that could be true or false because you are expressing emotions and these emotions are not cognitive, therefore neither true or false.

There are three branches of non-cognitivism:

- Emotivism states moral judgments are claims about reality but are emotional expressions of the speaker.

- Prescriptivism says that moral claims are not claims about reality but are personal prescriptions. Ex) If I say killing is wrong, all I am saying is “do not kill” or “I do not prescribe killing”.

- Expressivism says moral claims express a desire-like attitudes. Ex) If I say killing is wrong, I am expressing a desire I have which is saying I don’t like killing. Under expressivism, there is quasi-realism.

- Quasi-Realism accepts moral claims project emotional attitudes as if they are real properties.

Theory Application & Analysis

References

Sofroniou, A. (2011). Moral philosophy. Place of publication not identified: Lulu Com.

Normative ethics. (n.d.). Retrieved October 03, 2017, from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Normative_ethics

Frankena, W. K. (1976). Perspectives on morality: essays. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.

Copp, D. (2017, June 17). Introduction: : Metaethics and Normative Ethics. Retrieved October 03, 2017, from http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195325911.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780195325911-e-1

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Metaethics

http://www.ditext.com/frankena/e6.html