...Religious and Ethical Language are about facts. Discuss. In order to analyse whether language, religious or ethical are about facts it is vital to define facts. According to Honderich a fact can be defined as the worldly correlation of a true proposition, in other words a state of affairs make a statement true or false. There are two main schools of thought as to how ethical and religious language is to be treated. The cognitivists argue that statements about religion and ethics possess truth value, and hence can be known. As such the case such statements can be about facts. For example ‘Hitler is evil’ or ‘God exists’ is knowable in the sense that it corresponds to events that are occurring in the world. This view presents the correspondence theory of truth, which is what has now become to be known as early Wittgenstein’s writings. It argues that statements are true so far as in it paints a picture about the world it must relate to and derive meaning out of. As such the case religious and ethical truths are to be discovered. Ethical naturalists such as F.H. Bradley have argued that ethical language is about facts of the world. It is argued that moral statements which are subjective statements about values can be translated into facts or objective statements of fact. Thus it can be argued that ‘Hitler is evil’ is a true statement on the account that he was responsible for mass murder. This view was challenged by Hume. Hume argued that it is not possible to move from...
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...“All Ethical Language is prescriptive” Discuss (35) The Philosopher R.M. Hare came up with the idea of prescriptivism and what he meant by this basically was that other people should agree with a statement and follow it due to ethical statements having an intrinsic sense. The role of ethical statements is to say what ‘ought’ to be done and such prescriptions are moral because they are universal. Hare then goes on to talk about the word ‘good’ and that we should always link it in relation to a set of standards, and this therefore means it has a descriptive meaning, however if we use the word ‘good’ in a moral sense it also has a prescriptive meaning. Hare is saying that there is a difference between a descriptive and prescriptive meaning, but when we use words with an ethical meaning, we use them prescriptively. However there are criticisms to Hare’s theory like you should put yourself in another person’s shoes before making a judgement as one person’s preferences may be different from another person. On the other hand philosopher G.E. Moore came up with the idea of intuitionism and he said that the word ‘good’ was indefinable and one prime example he used was that we know what ‘yellow’ is and can recognise it, but we can’t actually define what it is and he also says this about the word ‘good’. Moore also said that we can still say whether a moral statement is true or false through our intuition and that we can recognise good when we see it. There are also criticisms to this...
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...Professor Fumerton November 30, 2012 “Ethical judgments are social instruments” In his essay “The Emotive Meaning of Ethical Terms”, Charles Leslie Stevenson (C.L. Stevenson), a professor of philosophy who taught at the University of Michigan, theorizes that the function of ethical statements is not to describe, but is rather to prescribe. He claims that language carries a type of meaning which he calls ‘emotive meaning’, rather than descriptive meaning and uses many examples of the term ‘good’ to establish his belief. He aims at showing that the notion of ‘good’ is equivalent to taking favor of something (“X is good”= “I like X”). Stevenson’s in-depth analysis of the concept of ‘good’ ultimately shows his readers the reality that the disagreement over whether something is good or not is just simply a disagreement in attitude. The first method used in determining the emotive meaning of ethical statements is to first address ethical questions in answering the question ‘Is X good?’ by what Stevenson calls ‘substitution’. He explains that in order to help understand this concept, the question must be substituted by a question that is free from ambiguity and confusion (Stevenson 370). It would not make sense to substitute this question with one that is irrelevant or with one that is the same as the question being assessed. He uses an example of substitution with the statement ‘Is X pink with yellow trimmings?’ This statement clearly has no relation to the original question and...
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...Prescriptivism in relation to ethical language is ethical statements that are about what we think ought to be done. Meaning that when people say something they want to prescribe their views on others. Invented by hare he argued for universalizability, if you refer one thing rather than another then you think this would be good for everyone. In prescriptivism there are four basic ideas. 1. Morality must be about doing not just thinking if you believe. 2. Something is right you must act on it and actually do it. Has to be consistent 3. Moral beliefs must be kept in harmony with other in other words cant cause war. 4. Cannot be a hypocrite He states that ethical statements are universalizable but this does not mean that they are objective. However there is also another non-cognitivst concept of ethical language. Emotivism came out of the logical positivist position of the Vienna circle. They believe that absolute truths were based on the empirical scientific knowledge. After developing the verification principle they concluded that neither religious nor ethical language can be verified. Ayer’s solution to the problem of ethical language is known as Emotivism. Or the boo hurrah theory. It argues that out moral are determined by our feelings and opinions of others. When we say that something is good it is like an emotional response that says hurrah to it and if we say something is bad it is like we are booing it. E.g to commandments says stealing is wrong, cannot prove this through...
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...To what extent is ethical language meaningful (35 Marks) The analysis of ethical language is called meta-ethics and what Meta-ethics does is look at the meaning of the language that is used in ethical statements and it includes questions about whether those statements are true or false or whether those statements are just expressions of emotion and if it is the truth then is it the truth for everybody or just a select few depending on society and culture, Meta-Ethics Is broken down into two sections and they are called cognitive and non-cognitive and these are two different perspectives on the meaningfulness of ethical language. Cognitivism involves a view that states moral knowledge is possible and therefore all ethical statements can be meaningful because they can be proved whether they are true or false. Non Cognitivism on the other hand involves the belief that there can be no ethical knowledge because ethical language and statements give no factual information and therefore they are not as meaningful as they are not subject to the true or false test and this approach suggests that they are just expressions of emotion and prescriptive recommendations. The naturalistic fallacy is a form of ethical non-naturalism and it was devised by G.E Moore and Moore believed that the term “good” is a simple term like “that’s yellow” and it couldn’t be defined and he also believed that we couldn’t prove moral statements through the use of evidence, Moore also believed that the only...
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...turn. P. Expressing vs Reporting belief: We can distinguish between expressivism and subjectivism. According to the former, an ethical sentence like ' Euthanasia is wrong' expresses a non-cognitive attitude toward euthanasia, but does not say that the speaker has it. The latter, on the contrary, says that that sentence reports the speaker's non-cognitive attitude toward euthanasia, which implies that euthanasia is the object of some attitude of the speaker's .As Ayer put it this way: " The orthodox subjectivist....his own view is that they express propositions about the speaker's feelings....
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...‘Ethical Language is meaningful’ Discuss The great discussion within Ethics is trying to unravel the meanings of essential terms, such as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, this differs from normative ethics, which tries to decide which things are good and bad and gives us a guide for moral behaviour – it’s the analysis of ethical language, but this also arises a question that many Ethicists and Philosophers have been asking for centuries - how meaningful is ethical language? This is known as Meta ethics. Ethical language has two separate approaches it can take – cognitive language which is realist and objective, being able to come up with ethical statements from nature and believing it to be true. For instance, if I said that rape is wrong, then I have given rape the property of wrongness, so according to a cognitivist my statement is objectively true or false and applies to everyone. On the other hand, you are able to follow a non-cognitivist route which is anti-realist and subjective. So they don’t agree that when making a moral statement it applies to all, but you are rather expressing feelings or telling people what to do, they are not descriptive so they can’t be described as true or false – they are subjective. The debate begins with Bradley who falls under the cognitive approach. He believes that we derive moral values from our society, we look at our community and from that we learn how to behave, so we use those morals that we have learnt and put them into practice in our society...
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...Chapter 1—Effective and Ethical Communication at Work MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. Communication skills are |a. |not as important in technical fields. | |b. |critical to effective job placement, performance, career advancement, and organizational success. | |c. |required only for high-level positions. | |d. |not as important in a down economy. | ANS: B | |Feedback | |A |Communication skills are needed in both technical and nontechnical fields. | |B |Surveys of employers consistently show that communication skills are critical to effective job placement, performance,| | |career advancement, and organizational success. | |C |Communication skills are needed at all levels of employment. | |D |Communication skills are especially valuable in a gloomy economy in which hordes of job seekers vie for limited | | |openings. ...
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...Meta Ethics ‘Ethical language has no purpose as it does not provide any answers.’ Discuss. ‘Understanding ethical language can help in making moral decisions.’ Discuss ‘Prescriptivism means that words such as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ have absolute meanings.’ Discuss ‘Learning what ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ mean is the most important purpose of ethical language.’ Discuss To what extent is ethical language meaningful? Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of emotivism. Virtue Ethics ‘The problem with Virtue Ethics is that it gives no definite answers to moral problems.’ Discuss. ‘Virtue ethics is not the best approach to ethical decision making.’ Discuss ‘Modern virtue ethics is very different from those taught by Aristotle.’ Discuss Explain the strengths and weaknesses of Virtue Ethics. Conscience Assess the view that conscience should always be obeyed. ‘Conscience is innate.’ Discuss ‘Conscience is vital when making moral decisions.’ Discuss. Assess the view that conscience is not a reliable guide to ethical decision making. ‘Conscience need not always be obeyed.’ Discuss ‘Conscience is a reliable moral guide.’ Discuss Assess the view that conscience need not always be obeyed. Evaluate the claim that conscience is the voice of God. Sexual Ethics ‘Sex and relationships are matters of personal choice.’ Discuss. ‘Virtue ethics is a good approach to the issues surrounding sex and relationships.’ Discuss ‘No ethical theory offers a satisfactory approach to issues...
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...believed that sentiment was the source of right and wrong. If you decide to help someone in need, you do so because you have feelings, not because you have reason. Hume believed in a common feeling for each other’s welfare. We all have a capacity for compassion, but it has nothing to do with reason. You can’t go from a factual statement (an ‘is’) to a moral one (an ‘ought). Logical positivism acknowledged that moral facts were not like scientific ones, but went on to conclude that they were not facts at all. If I make a statement, it is either true or false depending whether someone in principle could go and check the facts to which I refer. If there is no possible evidence that can be given either for or against that statement being true, then it is meaningless. This approach was summed up as: “The meaning of a statement is its method of verification”. I.e. to say ‘X exists’ means ‘if you go and look, you will see X’. This view of language is found in the early work of Wittgenstein. His Tractatus (1921) was an immensely influential book, which inspired a group of philosophers known as the Vienna Circle, and it was there that logical positivism developed. Its influence was spread by the publication in 1936 of Language, Truth and Logic by A. J. Ayer. Ayer claimed that there were only two kinds of propositions: • Truths known by definition (e.g. maths and logic) • Truths known through sense experience (i.e. proved by external facts) i.e. synthetic and analytic statements Where...
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...Applying Ethical Frameworks in Practice | |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 | | |Unsatisfactory |Less Than |Satisfactory |Good |Excellent | | |71.00% |Satisfactory |79.00% |89.00% |100.00% | | | |75.00% | | | | |80.0 %Content | | |20.0 % Identifies |Does not identify an |Identifies an ethical|There is limited |Relevant context and |Analysis of issue is | | |Ethical Dilemma |ethical dilemma; or |dilemma. But the |discussion of |thorough discussion of|comprehensive. | | | |identifies an ethical |description of the |relevant context |issue are provided. |Explores issue with | | | |dilemma but provides |ethical dilemma is |and exploration of |Identifies |broad perspective, | | | |no analysis of the |very vague; or the |implications. |implications and |identifying underlying| | | |ethical implications. |analysis of the |Identifies...
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...Translation services with non-standardised languages: what happens at the point of language contact when social pressures conflict with professional ethics? The linguistic situation of Sierra Leone poses an interesting challenge to a hybrid tribunal such as the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). Sierra Leone is one of the smaller countries in West Africa; its population is now estimated to be around 6 million. Over 20 languages are in use of which Mende, Themne, Limba, and Kono are the most important indigenous ones, but they exist besides the official ex-colonial language English and its Creole descendant, called Krio. Krio is used as a native language with ethnic reference mainly in the capital Freetown and in the Western Area. It is also used as a lingua franca throughout the country where Mende and Themne also serve as linguae francae, but these are mainly concentrated in the south and in the north respectively. However, Krio is also used as a first language without ethnic reference in most urban areas in Sierra Leone. It has become the dominant first language of the young urban people and it often used as one of two first languages. The language preference of young Sierra Leoneans is very important, since more than half of the population is under 19 years of age. During the war the importance and relevance of Krio grew enormously while that of English diminished. In the early 90s, not only the upcoming RUF (Revolutionary United Front) under the leadership of...
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...Chapter 1—Effective and Ethical Communication at Work MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. Communication skills are |a. |not as important in technical fields. | |b. |critical to effective job placement, performance, career advancement, and organizational success. | |c. |required only for high-level positions. | |d. |not as important in a down economy. | ANS: B | |Feedback | |A |Communication skills are needed in both technical and nontechnical fields. | |B |Surveys of employers consistently show that communication skills are critical to effective job placement, performance,| | |career advancement, and organizational success. | |C |Communication skills are needed at all levels of employment. | |D |Communication skills are especially valuable in a gloomy economy in which hordes of job seekers vie for limited | | |openings. ...
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...BA 205 section 002 Spring 2009 Chapter 1 and 2 Quiz B Multiple Choice 1. Making a clearly unethical or illegal choice is termed an: a. ethical lapse b. ethical dilemma c. ethical crime d. ethical misdeed ANSWER: a. An ethical lapse is the term used for a clearly unethical or illegal choice. DIFFICULTY: moderate; PAGE: 7; OBJECTIVE: 5; TYPE: concept 2. Miscommunication between cultures often occurs because a. the senders and receivers are encoding and decoding messages using the assumptions of their different cultures. b. the senders are encoding messages that the receivers will not be able to decode. c. the receivers are decoding messages that the senders were not able to encode. d. the senders and receivers are encoding and decoding messages that offend each other. ANSWER: a. When you communicate with someone from another culture, you encode your message using the assumptions of your own culture. However, the audience will decode your message using the assumptions of their culture. DIFFICULTY: difficult; PAGE: 9; OBJECTIVE: 4; TYPE: concept 3. Recognizing and accommodating cultural differences involves all of the following except: a. social customs b. ethics and laws c. nonverbal communication d. impact ANSWER: d. Impact is not one of the cultural differences to consider. DIFFICULTY: moderate; PAGE: 9; OBJECTIVE:...
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...action of mindless conformity committed by the females attendants of the conference to dress in a particular fashion, because women are marked. Tanner defines the term ‘marked’ as “a staple of linguistic theory. [Noting that] it refers to the way language alters the base meaning of a word by adding a linguistic particle that has no meaning on its own” (Tannen 392). The authors’ claim in this essay is “to say anything about women and men without marking oneself as either feminist or anti-feminist, male-basher or apologist for men seems as impossible for a woman as trying to get dressed in the morning without inviting interpretations of her character” (Tannen 394). Examining the dress, presentation and posture of the people in the room allowed Tannen to conclude that women are marked and men are unmarked. Evidence provided by Tannen to her audience is derived from The Sociolinguistic Language written by Ralph Fasold. Tanner uses Fasold’s biological comparison for her term of the ‘marked woman’ to show that “biologically it is the male that is marked. While two X chromosomes make a female, two Y chromosomes make nothing…unless it is attached to…an X chromosome” (Tannen 393). In paraphrasing this excerpt from The Sociolinguistic Language, Tannen aims to hit the logical appeal of her audience. Using genetic biological evidence to contradict her claim and to bring society’s perception of the make up of men and women...
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