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    Subjectivism in Ethics

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    Marie Jessica A. Ramos
    Ethical subjectivism holds that moral opinions are based solely on feelings and there is no objective right and wrong. Emotivism takes this a step further by claiming that moral statements are not assertions of fact but expressions of approval or disapproval - saying "x is good" essentially means "Hurrah for x!". Under emotivism, morality is non-cognitive and moral judgments cannot be true or false but rather reflect our emotions. While emotivism avoids claims of infallibility, it has been criticized for not allowing for moral reasoning or disagreement on factual matters.

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    Subjectivism in Ethics

    Uploaded by

    Marie Jessica A. Ramos
    79 views21 pages
    Ethical subjectivism holds that moral opinions are based solely on feelings and there is no objective right and wrong. Emotivism takes this a step further by claiming that moral statements are not assertions of fact but expressions of approval or disapproval - saying "x is good" essentially means "Hurrah for x!". Under emotivism, morality is non-cognitive and moral judgments cannot be true or false but rather reflect our emotions. While emotivism avoids claims of infallibility, it has been criticized for not allowing for moral reasoning or disagreement on factual matters.

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    Ethical subjectivism holds that moral opinions are based solely on feelings and there is no objective right and wrong. Emotivism takes this a step further by claiming that moral statements are not assertions of fact but expressions of approval or disapproval - saying "x is good" essentially means "Hurrah for x!". Under emotivism, morality is non-cognitive and moral judgments cannot be true or false but rather reflect our emotions. While emotivism avoids claims of infallibility, it has been criticized for not allowing for moral reasoning or disagreement on factual matters.

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    79 views21 pages

    Subjectivism in Ethics

    Uploaded by

    Marie Jessica A. Ramos
    Ethical subjectivism holds that moral opinions are based solely on feelings and there is no objective right and wrong. Emotivism takes this a step further by claiming that moral statements are not assertions of fact but expressions of approval or disapproval - saying "x is good" essentially means "Hurrah for x!". Under emotivism, morality is non-cognitive and moral judgments cannot be true or false but rather reflect our emotions. While emotivism avoids claims of infallibility, it has been criticized for not allowing for moral reasoning or disagreement on factual matters.

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    GE 5:

    Ethics
    Prepared by your friendly
    instructor:
    Andre John C. Apilado
    Subjectivism in Ethics
    Ethical subjectivism is the idea that
    moral opinions are based on our
    feelings and nothing more. On this
    view, there is no such thing as
    “objective” right and wrong.
    Subjectivism in Ethics
    Ethical subjectivism is a meta-ethical
    theory

    Does not tell us how we ought to live

    Does not tell us what specific actions


    are right or wrong
    Subjectivism in Ethics

    “x is morally acceptable”
    “x is right”
    “x is good”
    All these statements = “I (the
    speaker) approve of x”
    Problems with simple Subjectivism

    No one is infallible


    There cannot be moral
    disagreement (though in fact
    there is disagreement about
    moral issues).
    Subjectivism in Ethics

     It is a fact that the Nazis exterminated


    millions of innocent people; but
    according to Ethical Subjectivism, .it is
    not a fact that what they did was evil.
    When we say their actions were evil we
    are only saying that we have only
    negative feelings towards them. The
    same applies to any moral judgment
    whatever.
    Subjectivism in Ethics
     People have different opinions, but
    where morality is concerned there is no
    “facts”
     And no one is “right”, people just feel
    differently, and that’s the end of it.
     But this contradicts the plain fact that no
    one is infallible. We are some times
    wrong. Therefore, simple subjectivism
    cannot be correct.
    The denial of moral truth:
    Emotivism

    Or, the "hurrah/boo!"


    theory
    Emotivism
     Emotivism does not view moral
    assertions as either true or false.
     Reporting – “I (the speaker) approve of x”
     Expressing – “Hurrah for x” (does not
    express my feelings about x)
     Moral statements are essentially
    commands, and not at all fact stating.
    Where it fits in
     A non-cognitivist theory: morality is non-
    propositional, and so can’t be known to be
    true or false.
     If moral judgments are not true or false, we
    can’t reason about basic moral principles.
     “X is good” simply means “Hurrah for X!”
     so goodness and immorality are limited to our
    (societal?) preferences.
     For example, the death penalty makes me feel
    nasty.
     So it’s wrong
    Ayer’s arguments for Emotivism:
     To be meaningful, a proposition must be empirically
    verifiable or analytically true.
     ‘My favourite trousers are Lycra’ (verifiable)
     “Married people are partnered” (analytic)
     A C20 restatement of ‘Hume’s Fork’ – if not ‘matter of
    fact’ or ‘relation of idea’, then meaningless.
     Moral opinions
     neither factually verifiable
     Or reducible to tautologies
     So are meaningless (as are religious, aesthetic,
    metaphysical claims)
     E.g “There is a God”, “Terrorism is wrong”, ‘There
    are objects that exist without being perceived’.
    Ayer’s conclusions
     Moral arguments are just expressions of
    feeling.
     Ethical statements and moral judgements are
    emotive responses: they seek to arouse
    feelings or express pain.
     So moral judgements are persuasive, but they
    are not factual.
     They might look like they assert truth-claims
    (moral statements resemble declarative,
    testable statements)…but…
     They assert an emotion, that’s all.
    Emotivism isn’t subjectivism

     Mind! Emotivism isn’t subjectivism:


     Emotivism: “X is good” means “Hurrah for X!”
     Subjectivism: “X is good”
     This means “I like X”

     A verifiable proposition

     hence T/F

     hence meaningful as a psychological not


    ethical claim (according to Ayer)
     We could test if you liked X…
    Virtues of Emotivism

     Problem with fallibility is avoided since


    moral utterances are not true or false.
     Different senses of disagreement
     Factual disagreement
     Disagreements about what we think ought to
    happen
     Disagreements about attitudes
     Disagreements in attitude

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