Meta ethics: Intro and DCT

• Types of ethics


  • Descriptive ethics
  • Normative ethics
  • Applied ethics
  • Meta ethics
• Descriptive ethics


  Describes and compares ethical norms in different societies
• Normative ethics


  Looks at how we should behave e.g. Virtue ethics, Deontological ethics, Utilitarianism
• Applied ethics


  Applying normative principles to particular areas e.g. medical ethics, legal ethics
• Meta ethics


  Examines what moral language is about and how it can be justified
• Meta (Greek for beyond)


  Goes beyond normative ethics by asking deeper questions
• Types of meta ethical questions

  • Questions about what moral language means
  • Questions about how moral statements are justified
• Meta ethics


  Second order language
• Ethical statements - what is right/wrong


  Meta-ethical statement - what it means to claim something right/wrong
• Approaches to defining good and judging ethical statements

  • Ethical naturalism - cognitive theory - argue moral claims are facts
  • Ethical non-naturalism - cognitive theory - argue moral claims are facts
  • Ethical non-cognitivism - cannot know moral claims are facts - argue moral claims appear one way but are actually different
• Divine Command Theory (DCT)


  Religious theory of ethics - suggests moral commands are from God
• Differences between secular and religious ethics

  • DCT is a religious theory of ethics
  • Secular ethics are based on moral intuition not God, aiming to appeal to everyone on basis of shared experience and reason
  • Moral conclusions are shared by secular and religious people because we share common experience and reason
  • Secular ethics do not share religious sources of authority e.g. belief in divine God(s), moral commands in religious scriptures
  • Belief in God is enough justification for a moral choice for a theist, ethical discussions consider how God's moral law should be applied
• Divine Command Theory (DCT)

  Whatever God commands must be good – God = source of goodness + forbids evil
• DCT is sometimes ambiguous – different religions take different views about what 'God' morally wants
• Views on meat eating

  • Some Buddhists + Hindus don't eat meat – animal suffering
  • Other religions approve meat eating but have rules e.g halal + kosher
• Fundamental rule of DCT = people should act in way that reflects will of God that they understand best
• Protestant Christianity DCT beliefs

  • God = creator of everything
  • Organic link between creator + created "mankind in God's image"
  • Human moral behaviour should follow God's commands
  • Some Protestants follow doctrine of Sola Scripture so God's commands are found in scripture
  • DCT based on God's moral character + moral commands (statements of God's will)
  • Moral commands = 10 commandments (OT) + ethical teachings of Jesus (NT)
• DCT has influenced Christian theology e.g Calvin + Barth
• John Calvin's view on DCT

  • Uses DCT to justify his view on predestination
  • "The will of God is the supreme rule of righteousness, so that everything which he wills must be held to be righteous"
  • God cannot be 'caused' to act – because he = omnipotent
  • Challenge/ question God's will = asking for Greater (Impossible - Anselm – God = greatest conceivable thing)
  • DCT = natural result of absolute power of God
• Karl Barth's view on DCT

  • "It makes God's command for [a man] the judgement of what he has done and the order for his future action"
  • Argues humanity's obedience to God = answer to all ethical questions
  • God's commands = makes Christian ethics different to general ethical discussions
  • Christian approach should be "not one of compromise... For the question of good and evil has been decided and settled ... in the decree of God"
• Catholics believe Christ gave leaders of church (Pope + Bishop of Rome) authority to make announcements of doctrines + ethics
• Pope = fallible human but announcements made as Pope = infallible – represents will of Christ – should not be challenged by human reason
• Strengths of Christian DCT

  • For theists – DCT grounds moral behaviour – see God as omniscient + omnibenevolent so God's commands = right – motive to promote love in relationships
  • Theists link God's commands with afterlife for those who follow them – end goal to morality – motivates love
  • God as omniscient + omnibenevolent = aware of people's bad/good deeds – no weakness of human judge – God = fair judge
• Weaknesses of Christian DCT

  • Cannot tell if moral commands in Bible = come from God – corrupted? Humans = fallible? Lost in translation – Jesus spoke Aramaic
  • Bible contains immoral commands e.g. Slavery, Forbids Homosexuality
  • EUTHYPRO DILEMMA = "Is conduct right because the gods command it, or do the gods command it because it's right?"
  • Accepting first option = God loses moral goodness
  • Accepting second option = God loses omnipotence
• DCT = wrong – both options of the Euthyphro dilemma mean morality does not rely on God