PHIL 347 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Monism, Consequentialism, Thomas Hobbes
20 Jan 2017
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How moral theory is organized
● Mostly as the good and the right
The right
● Related to actions
● Defined as “not wrong”
The good
● Applies to: states of affairs, experiences, things, people
● Ex: the truth (thing)
Intrinsic good
● Good because of what it is/on it’s own
● Ex: happiness is intrinsically good
Extrinsically/instrumentally good
● Good because of what it’s related to
● Ex: money is good because it lets you have a house, food, travel, etc.
Theories that begin with/prioritize the right look at intrinsic features of an action
● Ex: lying is wrong because it is an act of disrespect (intrinsically bad)
Theories that begin with/prioritize the good define right action in terms of promoting the good
● Ex: lying is wrong because it causes lack of trust (extrinsically bad)
Value
Defined as: what makes something worth pursuing
● Includes intrinsic, extrinsic, aesthetic value, etc.
Monistic theories: there is only one value which is important
● Ex: Mill thought only happiness was a value and everything else that was valuable was
valuable because of how it relates to happiness
Pluralistic theory: there are multiple values which are important
○ Gives the idea that there are multiple morally acceptable solutions to a problem
Where do they come from?
● Depends on the moral theory you subscribe to
● Natural law theory believes that they come from human nature
● Others believe that values express human nature (related to it but don’t come from it)
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Document Summary
Mostly as the good and the right. Applies to: states of affairs, experiences, things, people. Good because of what it is/on it"s own. Good because of what it"s related to. Ex: money is good because it lets you have a house, food, travel, etc. Theories that begin with/prioritize the right look at intrinsic features of an action. Ex: lying is wrong because it is an act of disrespect (intrinsically bad) Theories that begin with/prioritize the good define right action in terms of promoting the good. Ex: lying is wrong because it causes lack of trust (extrinsically bad) Monistic theories: there is only one value which is important. Ex: mill thought only happiness was a value and everything else that was valuable was valuable because of how it relates to happiness. Pluralistic theory: there are multiple values which are important. Gives the idea that there are multiple morally acceptable solutions to a problem. Depends on the moral theory you subscribe to.
