Meta-ethical theories (OCR A-Level Religious Studies): Revision Notes

Emotivism

Emotivism: ethical theories that hold moral statements are not facts and are simply an expression of emotion Emotivism argues that what may appear on the surface to be a reasoned moral argument is simply an emotional appeal to share positive or negative feelings

A.J Ayer

Language is only meaningful if it fits into one of the following criteria:

• An analytical statement such as a mathematical truth or tautology (all bachelors are unmarried men)
• It is a synthetic statement that can be empirically verified. • Analytical e.g. 'All bachelors are men'. • Synthetic e.g. 'It is raining today'. • Moral e.g. 'murder is wrong'. Ethical statements are not observable, or true by definition and are therefore meaningless

Ayer's emotivism: boo/hurrah!

Ayer's Emotivism is sometimes known as the 'boo/hurrah' theory because our statements about what is good and bad, right and wrong are seen as expressions of our feelings, not as reference to any facts. Adding an ethical symbol like "wrong" to a statement about stealing money adds nothing to the factual content of the statement.

Stephenson

We can 'agree to disagree' on matters of taste, but, in matters of morality, we seek to persuade others to share and adopt our feelings about an issue.

In this sense, there is a dynamic and prescriptive element to our ethical language. "Your ethical judgement has a quasi-imperative force which, operating through suggestion, and intensified by your tone of voice, readily permits you to begin to influence, to modify, his interests"

Weaknesses of emotivism

Hare: Emotivism is a form of reductionism, it is reducing moral statements down to simply evincing emotion but they are actually more than this.

Warnock**: "**That it is a bad thing to be tortured or starved, humiliated or hurt, is not a matter of opinion. It is a fact. That it is better for people to be loved, and attended to, rather than hated or neglected, is again a plain fact, not a matter of opinion"

"It can be demonstrated conclusively that introducing heroin addiction to your children is morally wrong and anyone who disagrees with this "has either not followed the argument or, does not know what morally wrong means".

Morality is logically grounded in human needs.

To qualify as a moral judgement 'good, bad, right, wrong' etc. must have a definite content that relates to a concern with human wants and needs, simply because this is what the word 'moral' means.

Alasdair MacIntyre: "Moral judgments express feelings or attitudes," it is said. "What kind of feelings or attitudes?" we ask. "Feelings or attitudes of approval," is the reply. "What kind of approval?" we ask, perhaps remarking that approval is of many kinds. It is in answer to this question that every version of emotivism remains silent" By defining 'morally good' as an expression of approval and vice versa, the emotivist is unable to distinguish between my dislike of dropping litter and my dislike of racism, even though the difference between them is profound.

• Moral Nihilism: By denying objective and universal morals, it reduces morality to a matter of subjective opinion. To deny objective morals can become incredibly dangerous.
• There are clear morals in society which everyone agrees on, suggesting that they are not just a matter of opinion.
• Progress in society suggests that there are objective standards for moral decision-making.

Strengths of emotivism

• Challenges the foundations of morality by rejecting the idea that morality is beyond ourselves, therefore making it more compatible with real-life
• By grounding ethics in emotion, it accounts for why moral disputes (e.g. over abortion) are often un-ending and generate more heat than light.
• Emotivism accurately depicts the state of society whereby everyone has differing opinions and takes them as fact.