Moral Philosophy is the rational study of the
meaning and justification of moral claims.
A moral claim evaluates the
rightness or wrongness of an action or a person’s character. For example, “Lying is wrong” claims the act of
lying is wrong, while “One shouldn’t be lazy” claims a character trait (i.e.,
laziness) is wrong. Moral philosophy is usually divided into three distinct subject areas:
metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics.
What is
Metaethics?
Metaethics examines the nature of moral claims and arguments. This partly involves attempting
to determine if moral claims have clear essential meanings (i.e., they avoid
vagueness and ambiguity). But it also
attempts to answer questions such as: Are
moral claims expressions of individual emotions? Are moral claims social inventions? Are moral claims divine commands? Can one justify moral claims? How does one justify them?
Our class discussions will
focus on metaethics when we examine Nagel’s moral philosophy chapter in What Does It All Mean?. Nagel attempts to answer the ancient
metaethical question, “Why be moral?”
What is
Normative Ethics?
Normative ethics examines moral standards that attempt to define right
and wrong conduct. Historically, this has
involved examining good and bad habits, duties, or an action’s
consequences. In addition, historically,
normative ethics has focused on the prospect of a single moral standard
defining right and wrong conduct; but it has become more common for philosophers
to propose a moral pluralism with multiple moral standards.
Our class discussions will examine four moral
standards: ethical egoism, ethical relativism, the principle of utility, and
Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative.
What is
Applied Ethics?
Applied ethics examines specific moral issues. For example, one is doing applied ethics when
one addresses the morality of abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment,
environmental concerns, or homosexuality.
By using the conceptual tools of metaethics and normative ethics,
discussions in applied ethics try to resolve these issues.
Our class discussions will
not focus on applied ethics. If you are
interested in applied ethics, the philosophy department offers Philosophy 7,
Contemporary Moral Issues. While the
topics can vary from semester to semester, recent contemporary moral issues
classes have examined abortion, capital punishment, homosexual marriage,
pornography, and war and terrorism.
Doing Moral
Philosophy
While metaethics, normative ethics, and applied
ethics are distinct subjects, these subjects are interdependent. For example, how one pursues normative ethics
will be greatly affected by one’s metaethical assumptions. If one assumes, for example, that moral
claims are divine commands, then one’s normative positions will be determined by
identifying divine commands. Given this
relationship between metaethics and normative ethics, it is common for metaethical
questions to arise during a class discussion on normative ethics. If you have such a question, don’t hesitate
to ask. While I will be able to give
only a brief answer in class, I think such questions are a vital part of doing
moral philosophy. Similarly, how one
pursues applied ethics will be greatly affected by one’s normative
assumptions. If one assumes that one
always should pursue those actions which lead to the best consequences, then
one’s position on, for example, capital punishment, abortion, and terrorism
will be determined by identifying which action(s) will lead to the best
consequences. Given this relationship
between metaethics and normative ethics, it is common for normative questions
to arise during a discussion on normative ethics. Since we will not focus on applied ethics, it
probably will not occur in our class discussions. However, if this occurs when discussing an
applied ethical issue (e.g., abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, war and
terrorism), remember that such questions are a vital part of doing moral
philosophy.
Potential
Essay Questions
The following are potential final exam essay questions based on our examination
of moral philosophy:
1-
Clearly, concisely, and comprehensively examine ethical egoism.
2-
Clearly, concisely, and comprehensively examine ethical relativism.
3-
Clearly, concisely, and comprehensively examine the principle of utility.
4-
Clearly, concisely, and comprehensively examine the third formulation of the
categorical imperative.