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PHI-Ethics 110
Philosophy and Ethics
Term | Definition |
---|---|
What do Philosophers study? | Fundamental concepts, principles, and questions in any and every subject area |
What method do philosophers use? | Conceptual analysis and logical argument |
What method do they NOT use? | Empirical methods like observation or scientific experiments. |
Moral Philosophy/Ethics | "The study of what we should aspire to in our lives, and of how we should live" (Shafer-Landau,1) |
Value Theory | What is valuable in and of itself; what a good life consists of |
Normative Ethics | Looks for the supreme principle(s) of right action |
Metaethics | Ask questions about the fundamental status of moral claims. Are moral claims capable of being true? What makes them true? How can we know that moral claims are true? Is it always rational to be moral? Is Morality Objective? |
3 Components of a typical moral argument | 1.Normative principle statement. 2. Factual premise to show how it falls under normative principle. 3. Conclusion states what you should do. |
Core of Philosophy | identifying and analyzing arguments |
A Statement | A sentence with a truth-value. A sentence which is either true or false |
Argument Definition | A group of statements in which one or more statements (premises) are presented to provide supporting evidence for another statement (The conclusion) |
Logic | Studies and evaluates the inferential relations between the premises and conclusion of an argument. |
Conclusion-words | Therefore, thus, so, must have been, hence, consequently, it follows that, |
Premise-Words | Because, since, for, given that, assuming that, for the reason that, as shown by |
What does an Argument do? | Give evidence in support of the truth of some claim; address whether some claim is true |
Explanations | Make sense of how or why something is the case. address why some claim is true. |
Enthymemes | Arguments with missing premises, missing conclusions, or both |
Unstated premises | Used so that we can see if an argument rests on a false or dubious premise. |
Principle of Charity | reconstructed argument that gives the benefit of the doubt to the person presenting the argument. |
Valid Argument | Logically correct deductive arguments (The conclusion MUST be true if the premises are true.) |
Sound Argument | If an argument is valid AND all of its premises are true, then the argument is SOUND;. it's conclusion must be true |
Analytical Definitions | Discribe the meaning that a word already has in a language |
Stipulative Definition | Describe how a speaker intends to use a certain word, phrase or symbol. EX. Let 'heavy truck' mean 'truck that can carry 5 tons or more.' |
Revelatory Definitions | Perfect tendencies of thought implicit in old usages, offering more insight into the subject matter being treated. EX. Force=Mass x acceleration |