DOCSLIB.ORG

The Value and Criterion Handbook © 2012 Victory Briefs, LLC

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Value and Criterion Handbook © 2012 Victory Briefs, LLC The Value and Criterion Handbook Victory Briefs Textbook: The Value and Criterion Handbook © 2012 Victory Briefs, LLC Victory Briefs Textbooks are published by: Victory Briefs, LLC 925 North Norman Place Los Angeles, California 90049 Publisher : Victor Jih | Managing Editor : Adam Torson | Editor : Adam Torson | Contributors : Priya Aiyar, Stephen Babb, Eric Beerbohm, Fred Carroll, Dr. Ryan Davis, Jeremy Mallory, Jake Nebel, Tara Norris, Christian Tarsney, Marshall Thompson, Peter van Elswyk For customer support, please email [email protected] or call 310.472.6364. The Value and Criterion Handbook Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 Part I: Moral Theory .............................................................................................................. 3 Methods of Moral Argumentby Eric Beerbohm ....................................................................... 3 I. The Status of Intuitions in Moral Argument ........................................................................................................... 4 II. Coherence Method of Moral Reasoning ................................................................................................................ 7 III. Moral Relativism ................................................................................................................................................. 11 IV. Types of Moral Argument ................................................................................................................................... 12 V. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................................... 20 Consequentialism by Jake Nebel .......................................................................................... 22 1. What is Consequentialism? ................................................................................................................................. 22 2. The Strategic Costs and Benefits of Consequentialism ........................................................................................ 25 3. Arguments For/Against Consequentialism .......................................................................................................... 27 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................... 29 Kantian Ethics by Dr. Ryan W. Davis ...................................................................................... 30 §1 Content of Kantian Ethics ................................................................................................................................... 30 §2 Grounds of Kantian Ethics ................................................................................................................................... 35 §3 Thoughts about Debate ...................................................................................................................................... 37 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................... 38 The Moral Philosophy of Immanuel Kant by Eric Beerbohm .................................................. 39 Presenting the Groundwork ..................................................................................................................................... 40 Contention I: Duty and the Moral Law .................................................................................................................... 43 Contention 2: Human Dignity .................................................................................................................................. 49 Contractualism: Consequentialism’s Biggest Critic by Eric Beerbohm .................................... 53 I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 53 II. Consequentialism’s Appeal .................................................................................................................................. 54 III. Scanlon’s Alternative to Consequentialism ........................................................................................................ 55 IV. Criticisms of Scanlon’s Theory ............................................................................................................................ 61 V. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................... 61 i Virtue Ethics by Peter van Elswyk ......................................................................................... 63 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................. 63 An Explanation of Virtue Ethics ............................................................................................................................... 64 Debating With Virtue Ethics .................................................................................................................................... 72 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................... 74 Reading List .............................................................................................................................................................. 75 Moral Obligation and Supererogation by Eric Pai .................................................................. 76 I. Moral Obligation ................................................................................................................................................... 76 II. Supererogation .................................................................................................................................................... 84 A Debater’s Introduction to Metaethics by Christian Tarsney ................................................ 90 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................. 90 Moral Language ....................................................................................................................................................... 92 Moral Reality ........................................................................................................................................................... 94 Moral Knowledge..................................................................................................................................................... 99 Metaethics in Debate ............................................................................................................................................ 102 Part II: Political Theory ...................................................................................................... 108 Social Contract Theory by Marshall Thompson .................................................................... 108 Background on the Social Contract ....................................................................................................................... 108 Hobbes’ Social Contract Theory............................................................................................................................. 109 Locke’s Social Contract Theory .............................................................................................................................. 112 Rousseau’s Social Contract Theory ........................................................................................................................ 114 Other Notable Social Contract Notions ................................................................................................................. 117 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................. 119 Criticisms of Social Contract Theory by Priya Aiyar .............................................................. 120 Overview ................................................................................................................................................................ 120 Thomas Hobbes ..................................................................................................................................................... 122 John Locke ............................................................................................................................................................. 124 Jean-Jacques Rousseau .......................................................................................................................................... 125 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................................... 127 Theories of Justice by Stephen Babb ..................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Noncognitivism and Autonomy Eamonn Callan
    Document generated on 09/23/2021 5:34 p.m. Philosophical Inquiry in Education Noncognitivism and Autonomy Eamonn Callan Volume 23, Number 2, 2016 URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1070470ar DOI: https://doi.org/10.7202/1070470ar See table of contents Publisher(s) Canadian Philosophy of Education Society ISSN 2369-8659 (digital) Explore this journal Cite this document Callan, E. (2016). Noncognitivism and Autonomy. Philosophical Inquiry in Education, 23(2). https://doi.org/10.7202/1070470ar Copyright ©, 2016 Eamonn Callan This document is protected by copyright law. Use of the services of Érudit (including reproduction) is subject to its terms and conditions, which can be viewed online. https://apropos.erudit.org/en/users/policy-on-use/ This article is disseminated and preserved by Érudit. Érudit is a non-profit inter-university consortium of the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Its mission is to promote and disseminate research. https://www.erudit.org/en/ Noncognitivism and Autonomy Eamonn Callan, University of Alberta The supposed failure of ethical cognitivism is the beginning of one com­ mon argument for the ideal of personal autonomy and its supporting social practices. The argument can be summarized as follows. There is no ethical knowledge that could conceivably be available to us, or at least all current claims to such knowledge are doubtful to a degree that makes them untenable. Therefore, experts to whose authority we should defer regarding ethical deci­ sions simply do not exist. That is tantamount to saying we should act autonomously in making ethical decisions and, if we are to grant the capacity and liberty to make such decisions to others, we need to develop educational and other social practices that nurture the relevant capacity and bestow the necessary liberty.
    [Show full text]
  • The Theory of Justice
    Syllabus of the course: The Theory of Justice Утверждена Академическим советом ООП Протокол № 1от «31» августа 2018 г. Pre-requisites This course is based on knowledge and competences which were provided by the following disciplines: ● History of Philosophy ● General Ethics ● Analytic Ethics ● Political Philosophy ● Political Science Course Type: Elective Learning Objectives The objective of the course make the students familiar with the major contemporary theories of justice and the development of the necessary analytic skills of evaluation of any normative conception of justice as well as the capacity to participate in the public discourse on justice, which is about to emerge. Course Plan Ethics, Morality, Justice Language, Logic and Meaning of Justice Utilitarian Theory of Justice The Theory of Justice of John Rawls The Justice of Political Liberalism Libertarian Theory of Justice by Robert Nozick Justice by Agreement by David Gauthier Marxism as a Theory of Justice Feminism and Justice Communitarian Critique of Justice Just War Theory The Russian Historical Discourse of Justice 1. Ethics, Morality, Justice Ethics. The meaning of Ethics and Morality. Ethical Theory, General Ethics and Individual Ethics. The History of Morality. The Sociology of Morality. The Psychology of Morality. The stages of moral growth. Moralism, Immoralism, Amoralism. Human nature. Ethical skepticism. Metaethics. Theories of Metaethics. Naturalism. Emotivism. Universal Prescriptivism. Intuitivism. The nature of moral concepts. Good and Evil. Moral Relativism. Sentimentalism. Normative Morals. Moral Theory. Egoism. Psychological Egoism. Religious Ethics. Convention. Particularism. Teleological Ethics. Consequentialism. Utilitarianism. Hedonism. Deontology. Kant’s categorical imperative. Virtue Ethics. Morality and Rationality. Negative versus Politive Rights and Duties. Elitism. Applied Ethics.
    [Show full text]
  • Ethical Realism/Moral Realism Ethical Propositions That Refer to Objective Features May Be True If They Are Free of Subjectivis
    Metaethics: Cognitivism Metaethics: What is morality, or “right”? Normative (prescriptive) ethics: How should people act? Descriptive ethics: What do people think is right? Applied ethics: Putting moral ideas into practice Thin moral concepts Thick moral concepts more general: good, bad, right, and wrong more specic: courageous, inequitable, just, or dishonest Centralism- thin concepts are antecedent to the thick ones Non-centralism- thick concepts are a sucient starting point for understanding thin ones because thin and thick concepts are equal. Normativity is a non-excisable aspect of language and there is no way of analyzing thick moral concepts into a purely descriptive element attached to a thin moral evaluation, thus undermining any fundamental division between facts and norms. Cognitivism ethical propositions are truth-apt (can be true or false), unlike questions or commands Ethical subjectivism/moral anti-realism Ethical realism/moral realism True ethical propositions are a function of subjective features Ethical propositions that refer to objective features may be true if they are free of subjectivism Moral relativism Moral universalism/ Robust and Minimal Robust moral objectivism/ nobody is objectively right or wrong universal morality 1. Semantic thesis: moral predicates 3. Metaphysical thesis: the facts in regards to diagreements about are to refer to moral properties so and properties of #1 are robust-- moral questions a system of ethics, or a universal ethic, moral statements represent moral their metaphysical status is not applies universally to "all" facts, and express propositions that relevantly dierent from ordinary are true or false non-moral facts and properties Cultural relativism not all forms of moral universalism 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Truth: in Ethics and Elsewhere
    ANALYTIC TEACHING Vol. 19, No 1 Truth: In Ethics and Elsewhere This paper was presented at the North American Association for Community of Inquiry (NAACI) conference held in La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA, in July, 1998. Susan T. Garder All truths wait in all things, They neither hasten their own discovery nor resist it .... Walt Whitman, «Song of Myself» THE SEDUCTION OF RELATIVITY t is popular to make the claim, particularly when it comes to questions of value, that there is no I such thing as «truth.» For some, a belief in social or cultural relativism is the source of such scepticism. Such individuals would argue that it is chauvinistic arrogance to believe that just because, from one’s own point of view, practices carried out by other cultures appear to be immoral, e.g., cliterodectomies on unwilling young women, that somehow they are immoral per se. Others would argue for an even more radical form of relativism, no doubt stemming from a misguided view of equal- ity, namely that any individual viewpoint is a good (or bad) as anyone else’s: «from my point of view `x’ is immoral, but I wouldn’t dream of saddling anyone else with my morals.» Still others believe that, despite the drawbacks of a relativistic position, they must nonetheless remain sceptical about the possi- bility of truth in ethics in order to distance themselves from those who have inflicted enormous harm on others in the name of having a privileged access to truth. The Spanish inquisition, the holocaust, the decimation of indigenous people, were all carried out by individuals most of whom believed that they had truth on their side.
    [Show full text]
  • The Satanic Bible Anton Szandor Lavey
    Called “The Black Pope” by many of his followers, Anton LaVey began the road to High Priesthood of the Church of Satan when he was only 16 years old and an organ player in a carnival: “On Saturday night I would see men lusting after half‐naked girls dancing at the carnival, and on Sunday morning when I was playing the organ for tent‐show evangelists at the other end of the carnival lot, I would see these same men sitting in the pews with their wives and children, asking God to forgive them and purge them of carnal desires. And the next Saturday night they’d be back at the carnival or some other place of indulgence. “I knew then that the Christian Church thrives on hypocrisy, and that man’s carnal nature will out!” From that time early in his life his path was clear. Finally, on the last night of April, 1966– Walpurgisnacht, the most important festival of the believers in witchcraft–LaVey shaved his head in the tradition of ancient executioners and announced the formation of The Church Of Satan. He had seen the need for a church that would recapture man’s body and his carnal desires as objects of celebration. “Since worship of fleshly things produces pleasure,” he said, “there would then be a temple of glorious indulgence. .” The Satanic Bible Anton Szandor LaVey For Diane Dedications To: Bernadino Logara, who knew the value of money Karl Haushofer, a teacher without a classroom Rasputin, who knew the magic of a child Sir Basil Zaharoff, a gentleman Cagliostro, a rogue Barnabas Saul, the link with Mount Lalesh Ragnar Redbeard, whose might is right William Mortensen, who looked .
    [Show full text]
  • Eritis Sicut Deus: Moral Theory and the Sin of Pride
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Asbury Theological Seminary Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers Volume 3 Issue 4 Article 4 10-1-1986 Eritis Sicut Deus: Moral Theory and the Sin of Pride Gilbert Meilaender Follow this and additional works at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy Recommended Citation Meilaender, Gilbert (1986) "Eritis Sicut Deus: Moral Theory and the Sin of Pride," Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers: Vol. 3 : Iss. 4 , Article 4. Available at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy/vol3/iss4/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers by an authorized editor of ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. ERITIS SICUT DEUS: MORAL THEORY AND THE SIN OF PRIDE Gilbert Meilaender The fundamental temptation, especially for those who are serious about the moral life, is always the same: failing in trust, to want to be like God, knowing good and evil. "What the serpent has in mind," Karl Barth has written, "is the establishment of ethics. "1 This is an overstatement, but it points us toward an important truth. The number of possible moral theories is not large, though their varieties are infinitely complex. C. S. Lewis has a simple illustration which directs attention to the features of life that any moral theory must consider. Think of us as a fleet of ships sailing in formation.
    [Show full text]
  • Satanism’S Prime Mover
    ©2007 Peter H. Gilmore ISBN 10: 0-9764035-7-9 (cloth) ISBN 13: 978-0-9764035-7-9 ISBN 10: 0-9764035-9-5 (paperback) ISBN 13: 978-0-9764035-9-3 All rights reserved 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Goat of Mendes Painting by Peter Gilmore Interior Illustrations by Timothy Patrick Butler Author Portrait by Chistopher R. Mealie Typesetting and Design by Keven I. Slaughter Baltimore, MD ScapegoatPublishing.com Printed in Singapore FOR PEGGY -=my beloved=- To: Anton Szandor LaVey, Satanism’s Prime Mover. Blanche Barton, whose strength is legendary. Those who have been with me from the beginning: Ruth & Coop—stalwart co-conspirators, the founding members of the Order of Fenris—Magister Diabolus Rex, Magister Nemo, Magistra Isabel, and Reverend Manning. Charles Addams, who rendered our kin and Arthur Fellig, a romantic realist. Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, and Christopher Lee, who gave eternal life to multifaceted monsters. Ayn Rand and Madalyn Murray O’Hair, women of monumental courage. Jim Knipfel and George Carlin, fellow misanthropes. Eiji Tsuburaya and Akira Ifukube, who gave form and voice to the classic Daikaiju. Joi Lansing and Mamie Van Doren, bountiful bombshells. Jackie Gleason, Oscar Levant, and Orson Welles, remarkable polymaths who unleashed their dark sides. John Kennedy Toole and Mel Brooks, who show us how deeply funny the human animal can be. Frank Herbert, who saw potential and Gene Roddenberry, who created an Is-To-Be. And To: The magnificent Magisters and Magistras, profound Priests and Priestesses, wondrous Witches and Warlocks, astounding Agents, and the ever-inspiring loyal cohort that makes up the Citizenry of our Infernal Empire— you are an aristocracy of achievers, many of whom are cherished friends, and cannot know how very much you each mean to me.
    [Show full text]
  • Essays on Ethical Universalizability
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Faculty Publications - Department of Philosophy Philosophy, Department of 1985 Introduction from Morality and Universality: Essays on Ethical Universalizability Nelson T. Potter University of Nebraska - Lincoln, [email protected] Mark Timmons University of Illinois Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/philosfacpub Part of the Continental Philosophy Commons, and the Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons Potter, Nelson T. and Timmons, Mark, "Introduction from Morality and Universality: Essays on Ethical Universalizability" (1985). Faculty Publications - Department of Philosophy. 23. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/philosfacpub/23 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Philosophy, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications - Department of Philosophy by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Potter & Timmons in Nelson Potter and Mark Timmons (editors), Morality and Universality, ix-xxxii. Copyright 1985, D. Reidel Publishing. Used by permission. INTRODUCTION In the past 25 years or so, the issue of ethical universalizability has figured prominently in theoretical as well as practical ethics. The term, ‘universalizability’ used in connection with ethical considerations, was apparently first introduced in the mid-1950s by R. M. Hare to refer to what he characterized as a logical thesis
    [Show full text]
  • Anton Lavey, the Satanic Bible and the Satanist "Tradition"1
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Publikations- und Dokumentenserver der Universitätsbibliothek Marburg Marburg Journal of Religion: Volume 7, No. 1 (September 2002) Diabolical Authority: Anton LaVey, The Satanic Bible and the Satanist "Tradition"1 James R. Lewis University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, USA Dept. of Philosophy and Religious Studies eMail: [email protected] We have a bible. We have a pro-human dogma. We have a church. We have a tradition. - From the Church of Satan's official website. The status of The Satanic Bible as an authoritative scripture-or, perhaps more accurately, as a kind of quasi-scripture-within the Satanic subculture was initially brought to my attention during my first face-to-face encounter with Satanists in the Spring of 2000. Via the internet, I had found a small Satanist group in Portage, Wisconsin, which was about an hour south of where I resided at the time. This group, the Temple of Lylyth, distinguishes itself from Anton LaVey's brand of Satanism chiefly by its emphasis on feminine nature of the Dark Power. I arranged to meet with them in Portage on a Friday evening in connection with a research project on which I was working at the time. Over the course of our conversation, the founder and then leader of the group mentioned that on Friday evenings he was usually downtown where a small group of fervent Christians regularly set up what might be called a "preaching station" to spread the Gospel. This young fellow (he was nineteen at the time) would confront them as a practicing Satanist.
    [Show full text]
  • Anton Lavey's Satanic Philosophy: an Analysis
    Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies Volume 9 Number 1 Fall 2018 Article 4 2018 Anton Lavey's Satanic Philosophy: An Analysis Gabriel Andrade University of Zulia Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/imwjournal Recommended Citation Andrade, Gabriel "Anton Lavey's Satanic Philosophy: An Analysis." Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies 9, no. 1 (2018): 28-42. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/imwjournal/vol9/ iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ANDRADE: SATANIC PHILOSOPHY 28 GABRIEL ANDRADE received his B.A., Master's and PhD degree from University of Zulia (Venezuela). He taught at that same institution for more than ten years. He has also taught in the College of the Marshall Islands (RePublic of the Marshall Islands), Xavier University School of Medicine (Aruba), and is now Assistant Professor of Ethics and Behavioral Science at St Matthew's University School of Medicine (Cayman Islands). He has written many books in SPanish- language presses, mostly focusing on PhilosoPhy and the Social Sciences. 29 INTERMOUNTAIN WEST JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES Gabriel Andrade ANTON LAVEY’S SATANIC PHILOSOPHY: AN ANALYSIS THE SATANIC MYSTIQUE The history of Satanism goes back to at least 2500 years. Yet, only in the seventeenth century, was
    [Show full text]
  • Justification and Moral Cognitivism
    Department of Theology Spring Term 2018 Master's Thesis in Human Rights 30 ECTS Justification and Moral Cognitivism An Analysis of Jürgen Habermas’s Metaethics Author: Johan Elfström Supervisor: Professor Elena Namli Abstract In this thesis, I scrutinise and interpret Jürgen Habermas’s claim that justification of moral norms necessitates cognitivism. I do this by analysing the general idea behind his discourse theory of morality and then his metaethics. From there, I examine the non-cognitivist theory called prescriptivism as set out by Richard Hare to see if his account of moral reasoning is able to counter Habermas’s claims and thereafter, I examine some criticism against his concept of communicative action. I also engage with the discussion on how to define cognitivism: that is, whether the line should be drawn between moral realism on the cognitivist side, and constructivism on the other, or if cognitivism can include constructivist theories too. I propose that it should, provided that it allows moral statements to be truth-apt and express a mental state like that of belief. Following this definition, I argue that Habermas can be labelled a cognitivist and finally, I conclude that Habermas argument does not hold under scrutiny. Table of Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.1. Cognitivism and Rational Justification ........................................................................... 2 1.2. Previous Research ..........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Pragmatism and Effective Altruism: an Essay on Epistemology and Practical Ethics John Aggrey Odera University of Pennsylvania
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Penn Humanities Forum Undergraduate Research Undergraduate Humanities Forum 2018-2019: Stuff Fellows 5-2019 Pragmatism and Effective Altruism: An Essay on Epistemology and Practical Ethics John Aggrey Odera University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/uhf_2019 Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons Odera, John Aggrey, "Pragmatism and Effective Altruism: An Essay on Epistemology and Practical Ethics" (2019). Undergraduate Humanities Forum 2018-2019: Stuff. 2. https://repository.upenn.edu/uhf_2019/2 This paper was part of the 2018-2019 Penn Humanities Forum on Stuff. Find out more at http://wolfhumanities.upenn.edu/annual-topics/stuff. This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/uhf_2019/2 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Pragmatism and Effective Altruism: An Essay on Epistemology and Practical Ethics Abstract This paper hopes to provide an American Pragmatist reading of the Effective Altruism philosophy and movement. The criticism levied against Effective Altruism here begins from one of its founding principles, and extends to practical aspects of the movement. The utilitarian leaders of Effective Altruism consider Sidgwick’s ‘point of view of the universe’ an objective starting point of determining ethics. Using Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs), a popular measure in contemporary welfare economics, they provide a “universal currency for misery” for evaluating decisions. Through this method, one can calculate exactly the value of each moral decision by identifying which one yields more QALYs, and, apparently, objectively come to a conclusion about the moral worth of seemingly unrelated situations, for example, whether it is more moral to donate money so as to help women suffering from painful childbirth-induced fistulas, or to donate to starving children in famine-ridden areas.
    [Show full text]