Naturalism

Created by

lola renae

Cards (51)

what is naturalism?
the idea that moral values can be correctly discovered by observation of the natural world
what is "right" and "wrong" can be established by...?
looking at the world around us (empirical observation)
what kind of theory is naturalism?
a moral realist theory (moral facts/ truths actually exist)
in essence, what is naturalism grounded in?
the facts of nature, or in the facts of human nature
what else is naturalism?
cognitivist
how is naturalism cognitivist?
statements about morality are either objectively true or false
what do naturalist theories often talk of? 
intrinsic good
what does intrinsic good mean?
the value that something has "in itself" and holding that this good is self-evident
what is an example of theological naturalism?
Aquinas' NML
how is Aquinas' NML an example of theological naturalism?
it is based on the idea that the world has a God-given order
so moral values can be worked out by...?
understanding our God-given purpose and observing the natural order
meta-ethically, what will an ethical naturalist argue is vitally important?
to hold that there are ethical facts about the world
why would an ethical naturalist argue it is vitally important to hold that there are ethical facts about the world?
because otherwise we have no real justification for our actions
how can we discover goodness/ morality/ moral truths?
by observing the natural world around us
what did F.H Bradley argue?
that it is possible to understand our moral duties by observing our position or station in life
finish F.H Bradley's quote, "what he has to do depends on what his place is, what his function is...?
and that all comes from his station in the organism"
what does F.H Bradley mean in this quote?
that through observation, we can understand moral values/ absolutes
(s) what is one obvious strength of ethical naturalism?
that ethical propositions are true because they're factual
(s) what do they reduce to?
non-ethical properties about the world, such as happiness, love, well-being etc
(s) what are these facts grounded in?
human nature
(s) what does naturalism make morality/ right and wrong?
objective, rather than subjective
(s) they exist in the world outside ourselves, if there is an objective moral reality then...?
we can know if we are doing right or wrong
(s) as well, if morality is objective...?
then it's universal
(s) what does this give morality?
importance, rather than just being a matter of personal opinion
(s) what can ethical propositions give us?
solid guidelines and rules to follow (a set of absolutes)
(s) what does naturalism fit with?
widely used normative ethical theories (e.g. NML)
(s) therefore...?
it is a popular approach to understanding morality, that has real-world relevance
(w) the claim that ethical propositions are factual doesn't impress who?
ethical non-cognitivists (who argue that moral propositions aren't factual)
(w) briefly, we can see the non-cognitivist approach from who?
A.J Ayer
(w) what is Ayer's ethical non-cognitivism approach called?
emotivism
(w) for Ayer, what do moral statements reduce to?
statements of approval or disapproval
(w) for emotivists and others, what is morality?
subjective, not objective
(w) who identifies the naturalistic fallacy as the key error that naturalism makes?
G.E Moore
(w) what does Moore say is a mistake?
to try and define the concept "good" in terms of some natural property such as "pleasant" or "desirable"
(w) just because something is natural...?
we shouldn't assume that it is good
(w) what did Moore also argue?
that it isnt possible to derive an "ought" from an "is"
(w) we cannot go from pleasure IS good to...?
we ought to seek pleasure
(w) what is another way of saying this?
we cannot derive moral values from facts
(w) for example...?
she IS old and lonely (fact) and you OUGHT to help her (moral value)
(w) why is deriving you ought to help her from she is old and lonely logically invalid?
something is missing in the reasoning between them