Meta-Ethical Terminology

What is Moral Cognitivism?

• The view that there is no such thing as moral value and so it is impossible to assess

  the moral worth of any action.

• It holds that ethical statements are truth-evaluable, and so can be described as true or false.

• A branch of philosophy that looks at the application of different ethical systems to

  moral dilemmas and issues.

• It holds that ethical statements are not truth-evaluable, and so cannot be described as

  true or false.

What is Moral Non-Cognitivism?

• The view that moral truths are subject to or dependent on a being’s will or opinion.

• A view which holds that ethical statements are not truth-evaluable, and so cannot be described as

  true or false.

• The view that the truth of moral facts applies to any moral agent, independently of

  culture, background or context.

• A branch of philosophy that looks at the nature, form and meaning of morality (and

  moral statements).

What is Moral Realism?

• A branch of philosophy that looks at what moral principles human beings ought to

  follow and how people ought to act.

• The view that the truth of moral facts applies to any moral agent, independently of

  culture, background or context.

• The view that there are objective moral facts that exist separately from our subjective

  beliefs or feelings.

• A philosophical problem that questions the relationship between goodness and God.

What is Moral Anti-Realism

• The view that what is good is equivalent to what God commands.

• The view that goodness is a non-natural property.

• The view that what is good can be known through use of one’s intuition.

• The view that there are no objective moral facts that exist separately from our subjective

  beliefs or feelings.

What is Moral Absolutism?

• This is the view that all actions are intrinsically either right or wrong.

• This is the view that ethical principles (or a particular system of ethics) apply universally,

  regardless of an individual’s culture, nationality or characteristics.

• This is the most extreme view, holding that nothing is ethically right or wrong.

• A branch of philosophy that looks at what moral principles human beings ought to

  follow and how people ought to act.

What is Moral Universalism?

• The view that there are objective moral facts that exist separately from our subjective

  beliefs or feelings.

• The view that the truth of moral facts is relative to the background, culture or context

  of a moral agent.

• A branch of philosophy that looks at the application of different ethical systems to

  moral dilemmas and issues.

• The view that the truth of moral facts applies to any moral agent, independently of

  culture, background or context.

What is Moral Relativism?

• The view that the truth of moral facts is relative to the background, culture or context

  of a moral agent.

• The view that the truth of moral facts applies to any moral agent, independently of

  culture, background or context.

• The view that there are objective moral facts that exist separately from our subjective

  beliefs or feelings.

• A branch of philosophy that looks at the nature, form and meaning of morality (and

  moral statements).

What is Moral Nihilism?

• The view that the truth of moral facts is relative to the background, culture or context

  of a moral agent.

• The view that there is no such thing as moral value and so it is impossible to assess

  the moral worth of any action.

• The view that moral truths are subject to or dependent on a being’s will or opinion.

• The view that the truth of moral facts applies to any moral agent, independently of

  culture, background or context.

What is Logical Positivism?

• An empiricist movement which developed the verification principle as a way to test

  whether statements could be regarded as cognitively meaningful.

• The view that moral truths are subject to or dependent on a being’s will or opinion.

• The view that moral properties are simply natural properties and so any moral

  statement can be reduced down to a natural, descriptive statement.

• The view that what is good is equivalent to what God commands.

What is Ethical Subjectivism?

• The view that there is no such thing as moral value and so it is impossible to assess

  the moral worth of any action.

• The view that the truth of moral facts is relative to the background, culture or context

  of a moral agent.

• The view that moral truths are subject to or dependent on a being’s will or opinion.

• The view that there are objective moral facts that exist separately from our subjective

  beliefs or feelings.