Naturalism- cognitive

• Theological naturalism 


  Aquinas views the world as having god given natural order that we discover through observation and reason

  Everything has telos

  We can serve how good something is by considering whether it is moving towards that purpose
• Mills naturalism 


  Based on utilitarianism

  We observe the world based on utilitarianism and observe actions that lead to pleasure and pain to discover what is right or wrong

  The fact we desire good must mean the actions are good - problematic
• Bradley’s naturalism 


  morality is contextual

  ‘the man is not to be taken out of its context’

  we must consider the understanding of morality which in the context of the act

  our moral duty is determined by our position in society - moral duty is doing what makes out role successful

  [__reductionist theory as it reduces what people are capable of

  theory developed when social norms were absolute
• Humes fork


  is-ought gap- just because something is the way is is doesnt mean it ought to be that way

  Hume believes moral claims arise from sentiment, not reason.

  morals will lead to action or inaction and it is driven only by passions

  just because we observe something doesnt mean it should be that way
• Searle’s challenges to the fact-value gap

  1. Jones says ‘I promise to pay you, smith $5’
  2. He promised to pay the money
  3. He placed himself under an obligation to pay smith the money
  4. Jones is under the obligation to pay
  5. Jones ought to pay smith the $5

  Searle argues that the gap between facts and values is bribed by institutional facts as opposed to ‘brute facts’

  The factual statement carries the force of moral bridge or obligation

  Institutions are full of such conduct and sanctions are in place when they are broken
• Philipa foot 


  challenges Hume saying moral evil is a ‘kind of natural defect’

  ‘the fact that a human action or disposition is good of its kind.. is a fact about a given feature of a certain kind of living thing’

  when we call someone honest we are referring to something, to a person who recognises certain considerations eg. promise keeping
• phillipa foot: virtues 


  characteristics and behaviours all aim at something good

  virtues can be observed and recognised by watching how a person acts in consideration of those virtues

  a person who acts in consideration os honesty does honest things and those can be observed through observations

  therefore we can percieve moral absolutes that empiricist argue we cant measure
• phillipa foot: Aristotle 


  Aristotle observes that. the natural world includes a good way of doing things. life offers patterns and these apply to morals too

  1. there is a life cycle consisting of reproduction
  2. reproduction can be achieved differently in each species