Emotivism PDF

🌊 Emotivism Emotivism - A meta-ethical , non cognitivist, theory that proposes moral statements are an expression of our emotions or feelings rather than objective truths. When we describe something as morally ‘good’ or ‘bad’ we are not desc...

🌊 Emotivism Emotivism - A meta-ethical , non cognitivist, theory that proposes moral statements are an expression of our emotions or feelings rather than objective truths. When we describe something as morally ‘good’ or ‘bad’ we are not describing this as a factual statement, but rather describing our feelings about the thing. This theory marks morality as entirely subjective, which explains why people disagree on it. A.J. Ayer Ayer was a leading figure in the logical positivism movement, and argued statements are only meaningful if they are either analytically true, or empirically verifiable. He believed that ethical statements are of value - ‘significant and scientific’ in one sense and in another unscientific due to their nature s simply being emotions. Since moral statements are neither analytically true nor empirically verifiable, he concluded they are meaningless in terms of conveying factual information. 💫 Emotivists suggest moral language functions similarly to expressing ‘Boo’ or ‘Hurrah’, rather than any kind of objective truth. He believes there are four categories of ethical philosophy; 1. Propositions with express definitions of ethical terms 2. Propositions describing phenomena of moral experience and their cause 3. Exhortations to moral virtue 4. Ethical judgements that attempt to ascribe value He believes that philosophers do not try to differentiate between these classes. he concluded by stating that ethical propositions may have some worth as means of persuasion, calculate to not only express feelings but arouse them to stimulate action. These are determined Pseudo-concepts. C.L. Stevenson Stevenson expanded on Ayer’s ideas. He began by considering the word ‘good’, believed that its definition shoulld enable disagreement, have a certain appeal, and not be subject to verification. To him, the emotive meaning of a word is the tendancy of a word to produce affective responses. He argued that moral language is not only used to express emotions, but also to in fluence others to adopt a similar stance in a persuasive manner. 💫 For example; Claiming ‘lying is bad’, is an individual expressing disproval of the at whilst also trying to influence others to feel the same way. Emotivism 1  Ethical subjectivism is the idea that moral statements are true or false based on individual beliefs, it is treated as personal opinion s that can vary between persons. Emotivism however, holds moral views are expressions of feelings or attitudes, and are not ‘true’ or ‘false’. Challenges The Frege-Geach problem - Logical inferences involving moral statements become problematic if they're merely emotional expressions. For example: "If stealing is wrong, and John stole, then John did something wrong." No basic moral principles can be established - Emotivism rejects the idea that there are objective moral truths that apply to everyone, this means it struggles to provide fixed standard for right and wrong, which undermines its ability to be applied. This leads to moral relativism where right or wrong depends on individual or cultural attitudes. Ethical debate becomes pointless - If moral statements are merely emotional expressions, then debates lack factual basis, and so when they disagree, it is on simply conflicting emotions, and this is a greater struggle to reconcile. Strengths Weaknesses Simple explanation Dismisses moral reasoning Avoids Moral absolutism Oversimplified Emotivism 2