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Single Idea 6973
[filed under theme 22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 1. Nature of Ethics / d. Ethical theory
]
Full Idea
All moral theories, intuitionist, naturalistic, objectivist, emotive, and the rest, in so far as they are philosophical theories, are neutral as regards actual conduct; they belong to the field of meta-ethics, not ethics proper.
Gist of Idea
Moral theories are all meta-ethical, and are neutral as regards actual conduct
Source
A.J. Ayer (On the analysis of moral judgements [1949])
Book Ref
Ayer,A.J.: 'Philosophical Essays' [Macmillan 1965], p.246
A Reaction
Interestingly, Ayer doesn't seem willing to accept 'ethics proper' as being 'philosophical'. Given the modern rise of applied ethics, it seems suprising to say that even normative ethics is not philosophical. Utilitarianism seems not to be philosophical.
The
28 ideas
with the same theme
[the need for, and value of, formal ethical systems]:
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302
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What knowledge is required to live well?
[Plato]
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45
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We aim not to identify goodness, but to be good
[Aristotle]
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46
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We must take for granted that we should act according to right principle
[Aristotle]
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5153
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There is no fixed art of good conduct, and each situation is different, as in navigation
[Aristotle]
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7407
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Good and evil are what please us; goodness and badness the powers causing them
[Hobbes]
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4130
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There couldn't be a moral rule of which a man could not justly demand a reason
[Locke]
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21374
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We should no more expect ethical theory to produce good people than aesthetics to produce artists
[Schopenhauer]
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20230
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The very idea of a critique of morality is regarded as immoral!
[Nietzsche]
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21740
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I doubt whether ethics is part of philosophy
[Russell]
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6973
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Moral theories are all meta-ethical, and are neutral as regards actual conduct
[Ayer]
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6974
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Moral judgements cannot be the logical consequence of a moral philosophy
[Ayer]
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9250
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Discussing ethics is pointless; moral people behave badly, and integrity doesn't need rules
[Camus]
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5310
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Philosophers study the consequences of ethics instead of its origins
[Wilson,EO]
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9228
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Ranking order of desires reveals nothing, because none of them may be considered important
[Frankfurt]
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5078
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Kant and Mill both try to explain right and wrong, without a divine lawgiver
[Taylor,R]
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5067
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Morality based on 'forbid', 'permit' and 'require' implies someone who does these things
[Taylor,R]
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4114
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Philosophers try to produce ethical theories because they falsely assume that ethics can be simple
[Williams,B]
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6997
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Moral functionalism says moral terms get their meaning from their role in folk morality
[Jackson]
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7000
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Which are prior - thin concepts like right, good, ought; or thick concepts like kindness, equity etc.?
[Jackson]
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3284
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There is no one theory of how to act (or what to believe)
[Nagel]
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23564
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Deep ethical theory is very controversial, but we have to live with higher ethical practice
[Walzer]
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8034
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We still have the appearance and language of morality, but we no longer understand it
[MacIntyre]
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8036
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Unlike expressions of personal preference, evaluative expressions do not depend on context
[MacIntyre]
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8049
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Moral judgements now are anachronisms from a theistic age
[MacIntyre]
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11911
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Some philosophers always want more from morality; for others, nature is enough
[Blackburn]
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20216
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Modern moral theory concerns settling conflicts, rather than human fulfilment
[Zagzebski]
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20447
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The problems is not justifying ethics, but motivating it. Why should a self seek its good?
[Critchley]
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7098
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There is a new sort of moral scepticism, about the possibility of moral theories
[Statman]
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