Intuitionism (OCR A-Level Religious Studies): Revision Notes

Intuitionism

Intuitionism

Cognitivism**:** ethical language expresses beliefs about reality which can therefore be true or false.

Moral Realism: The view that moral properties (like goodness/badness) exist in reality.

G.E Moore

Principal Ethica Naturalistic fallacy: that it is a mistake to try to define ethical terms in relation to something else (e.g. the extent to which it brings pleasure) because then we have broken 'good' down into something else.

Moore's non-naturalism:

Moore believes that goodness is not a natural property, making him a non-naturalist.

Moore argues that goodness is real however not natural.

For example: Numbers are real however they are not natural physical objects.

Complex notion: Philosophers who define 'good' in terms of something else are making it a complex notion. 'Good' is a simple notion, just like yellow is a simple notion – you know it when you see it "If I am asked 'what is good?' my answer is that good is good, and that is the end of the matter If I am asked 'how can good be defined' my answer is that it cannot be defined and that is all I have to say about it" Goodness is good in itself, but our awareness or appreciation of this cannot be defined because it is intuitive.

H.A. Prichard

• For Prichard, not only do we know by intuition what is the right thing to do, but he adds the idea that we have a moral duty to do the good thing too.
• We know by intuition which of our moral obligations are more important than others.

W.D. Ross

Ross defines intrinsically good as that which is "good apart from any of the results it produces" Prima facie duties:

1. Fidelity – keeping promises
2. Reparation – to make up for bad things you've done
3. Gratitude – be grateful and don't expect in return
4. Non-injury – don't cause harm to others
5. Beneficence – do good to others – foster happiness
6. Harm prevention – prevent harm
7. Self-improvement
8. Justice

Hume's non-cognitive moral psychology

• Moral actions involves motivation to act and cannot be caused by reason.
• Motivation requires desire.
• Reason does not have control over our emotions so cannot create moral judgments.

Weaknesses of Intuitionalism

• Intuitions vary so much
• If we all had the same intuition then surely there would be more moral agreement in society.
• Intuitionalism can essentially be reduced to a feeling that we get, which can therefore be reduced to an emotion. When talking of intuitionalism are we therefore referring to emotivism?
• Mackie: Moral realism is an abductive argument. Whilst there is cross-cultural agreement on certain values, there is no proof that this is because of universal intuition.
• Cross-cultural agreement exists not because of objective moral truths but as a result of societies' need to function and practical necessity.

Strengths of intuitionalism

• Whilst 'good' is self-evident and indefinable, it is still clear that we disagree over ethics.
• There is cross-cultural agreement which suggests a set of core moral principles in all societies.
• A self evident proposition is not the same as an obvious truth. What is obvious to you might not be obvious to me.
• The reason why there is a difference of ethical opinion is that ethicists have been failing to identify the real ethical questions in the first place.