History of Western
Philosophy
in Five Minutes
Video
Philosophy 2030
Spring, 2014
Class #1
Title:
Introduction to Ethics
Instructor:
Paul Dickey
E-mail Address: pdickey2@mccneb.edu
faculty.mccneb.edu/pdickey2
http://mockingbird.creighton.edu/NCW/dickey.htm
Class Websites:
www.quia.com
Create your own userid & password.
1) “Head Start”
Extra Credit Quiz
2)
Introductions – Tell Us a Story
3) Syllabus
4)
Discussion –
What is Ethics anyway?
5) Video
Philosophy 2030
Introduction to Ethics
Textbook:
Author: Nina Rosenstand
Title: The Moral of the Story: An Introduction to Ethics
Edition: 7th Edition, 2013
Publisher: McGraw Hill
1) Reading Assignment for Next Class Period:
Chapter 1: pp. 1-18, 36-39
2)
Syllabus Quiz on Quia website
3) “Write your story down”
Discussion –
What is Ethics anyway?
Ethics is one of the multiple disciplines in
Philosophy, the one that deals with Moral
Judgment and Moral Action.
So what is Philosophy?
Well, be careful. “What is Philosophy?”
is itself a philosophical question that you
may hear many different answers and
arguments.
For our purposes now, let us understand
philosophy as an approach to try to answer
fundamentally important questions by a
process of argumentation known as logic
and/or critical thinking.
The Major Fields of Philosophy
1.
Metaphysics – “questions about what is”
2.
Logic – “questions about philosophy’s
own method.”
3.
Epistemology – “questions about
knowledge,”
4.
Ethics -- “questions about values and
morality and how they relate to human
conduct.”
Does a person have an obligation to others?
How should we live to be good?
What responsibilities do governments have to
their citizens?
So, ask a question. Any question.
Congratulations. You are doing
philosophy.
7
So, ask A Question. Any question.
………..
Now, what is the process or method
of answering it? That is, how
should we do philosophy?
Well, it seems you answer it by
making a claim.
8
What is a Claim?
• A claim is sometimes called an assertion,
an opinion, a belief, a “view”, a thought, a
conviction, or perhaps, an idea.
• A claim must be expressed as a
statement or a complete, declarative
sentence. That is, it is propositional. It
cannot be a question.
• What is an Objective Claim vs a
Subjective Claim? An objective (but not
a subjective) claim is true or false
independent of what people think! But be
careful.
9
Arguments & Subjectivism
•
The view that “one opinion is as good as
another,” “it’s true for me though it might not be
true for you” or “whatever is true is only what you
think is true” is known as subjectivism.
•
For some things, this makes sense, e.g.
Miller taste great.
My grandson is cute.
The waiter at the restaurant was nice.
But be careful. Is it reasonable to argue that the
most significant beliefs in our lives are
subjective – whether God exists, whether you
are living your life morally, or whom you should
love?
10
But there is another VERY important
distinction that must be made about
claims. Perhaps even more important.
What is a Factual Claim?
• In its clearest form, a claim asserts that
something is true or false.
• That is, it asserts a fact. This kind of claim
is known as a “factual claim” or a
“descriptive claim.”
11
What is a Normative Claim?
• Value statements can also be claims though. In
such claims, a fact is not asserted in the same
sense that it was in factual claims.
• For example, the claim “You should (or ought) to
come to class” is not true or false (at least in the
same way that the claim “P2030 class is held in
Room 218” is).
• Thus, some claims are “normative claims” or
“prescriptive claims.” They express values and
how one should act based on values. A value
statement is a claim that asserts something is
good or bad.
12
Now, Critical Thinking is Absolutely
Relevant to Both Factual &
Normative Claims
• As we shall see in this class, it is
necessary that we identify very clearly
which kind of a claim we have before we
can properly evaluate any argument for it!
• Thus, please note we are taking a position
against the subjectivist and saying that
even normative judgments can be
analyzed by the principles of critical
thinking or reasoning.
13
The Fundamental Principle of Critical
Thinking is The Nature of an Argument
•
Making a claim is stating a belief or opinion
-- the conclusion
•
An argument is presented when you give a
reason or reasons that the claim is true. -the premise(s)
•
Thus, an argument consists of two parts,
and one part (the premise or premises)
is/are the reason(s) for thinking that the
conclusion is true.
14
How Do Premises Support
Factual vs. Normative Conclusions?
In regard to evaluating support for factual vs.
normative Conclusions, I would suggest the following
two tips to keep in mind
1) Only factual premises support factual conclusions.
That is, if the conclusion is factual (or descriptive),
ALL premises must be factual.
2) A normative premise is always needed to support
a normative conclusion. That is, if the conclusion is
normative (or prescriptive), there must be at least
one normative premise. Of course, there may or
may not be factual premises!
15
Now, can we get back on
topic?
Discussion –
What is Ethics or Morality anyway?
Are Ethical questions factual or
normative?
If normative, are all normative
questions moral questions? What
about “What is a good story?”
So, what makes some
normative questions moral
questions?
Is it because they are ask
questions about what is
appropriate human conduct
or what is moral?
Well, perhaps, …..