Prescriptivism
LO: I will understand what RM
Hare meant by prescriptivism
Recap
Summarize in 2 or 3 sentences:
a) AJ Ayer’s meta ethics
b) CL Stevenson’s meta ethics
c)
GE Moore’s meta ethics
RM Hare and prescriptivism
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Moral judgements are prescriptive
(express certain behaviour)
Moral judgements have universal qualities
Ethical statements say what ought to be
done
Universal prescriptivism is superior
Everyone should do the same in similar
situations
Ethical statements express will/wishes
Moral statements are objective
Moral statements command behaviour
RICHARD HARE’S THEORY
Richard Hare claimed that ethical
statements are not just expressions
of our feelings.
Moral language is also prescriptive,
which means that it tells us how we
ought to behave.
Hare’s theory is called prescriptivism.
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It prescribes what
a person should
do.
It is like a doctor’s
prescription, in
that it will vary
from person to
person.
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When a person
says ‘You shall not
murder’ this is not
just an expression
of personal
revulsion at the
thought of killing.
It also means that
everyone should
follow this moral
truth.
The Universalizability Principle
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This is an example
of the
universalizability
principle.
When an individual
prefers one thing
over something
else, this implies
that this
preference would
be good for
anybody.
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For example:
If x prefers to care
for a sick person
rather than go to
the pub, this
implies that were x
to be sick then he
or she would wish
someone to act in
the same way
towards them.
Where did Hare’s ideas originate?
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Hare’s theory of the
universal nature of
morals was greatly
influenced by events
in his life.
He served in the army
during WW2 and
spent 3 years as a
POW in Changi prison
and building the
Burma-Thailand
railway.
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The brutality of the
Japanese treatment of
prisoners deeply
affected his attitude to
morality.
It was this experience
that led him to
develop a secular form
of the Golden Rule.
He did not believe that
the abuse he received
could ever be
universalizable.
Prescriptivism asserts 4 basic ideas:
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That moral sentiment
is not enough. The
individual’s morality
must involve doing
what is morally
required.
That moral belief
must be kept in
harmony with others.
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That ethical action
has to be consistent.
It is important in all
situations to practise
a consistent morality.
That the moral agent
cannot be
hypocritical.
Debate
This house believes
ethical statements
should not be
universalised.