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Subjectivism

Subjectivism. Ethical Subjectivism – the view that our moral opinions are based on our feelings and nothing more. Ethical subjectivism is a meta-ethical theory Does not tell us how we ought to live Does not tell us what specific actions are right or wrong. Simple Subjectivism.

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Subjectivism

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  1. Subjectivism

  2. Ethical Subjectivism – the view that our moral opinions are based on our feelings and nothing more. • Ethical subjectivism is a meta-ethical theory • Does not tell us how we ought to live • Does not tell us what specific actions are right or wrong

  3. Simple Subjectivism • “x is morally acceptable” • “x is right” • “x is good” • All these statements = “I (the speaker) approve of x”

  4. Problems with Simple Subjectivism • No one is infallible • There cannot be moral disagreement (though in fact there is disagreement about moral issues).

  5. Emotivism • Emotivism does not view moral assertions as either true or false. • Reporting – “I (the speaker) approve of x” • Expressing – “Hurrah for x” (does not express my feelings about x) • Moral statements are essentially commands, and not at all fact stating.

  6. Virtues of Emotivism • Problem with fallibility is avoided since moral utterances are not true or false. • Different senses of disagreement • Factual disagreement • Disagreements about what we think ought to happen • Disagreements about attitudes • Disagreements in attitude

  7. Problem with Emotivism • Cannot account for good and bad reasoning in ethics. • If moral statements are commands intended to change the attitude/behavior of another, then any reason given that successfully changes someone’s attitude is morally appropriate.

  8. Proofs in Ethics • Subjectivism and Emotivism are troubling because they seem to imply that reason is not an important element of morality. • “No Proof Argument” • (1) If there were any such things as objective truths in ethics, we should be able to prove that some moral opinions are true and others are false. • (2) But in fact we cannot prove which moral opinions are true and which are false. • (3) Therefore, there is no such thing as objective truth in ethics.

  9. Objections to the “no proof argument” • Inappropriate standard of proof i.e., ethics ≠ science • The difficult proofs in ethics are analogous to difficult proofs in science

  10. Example: Geometry • Point: No, length, no width, no depth. Point 10

  11. Infinite number of points in 2 directions Line

  12. Connect three lines and you get. . . Triangle

  13. So what did you study in Geometry?

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