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    The properties of authority-independence, universality, a... — Carmelics
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    Home/Virtue Ethics
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    The properties of authority-independence, universality, and justification by harm, justice, or rights do not reliably cluster together in a way that distinguishes moral norms from other norms

    Truth & KnowledgeVirtue Ethics
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    2 reasons for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
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    • 1.Wittgenstein's family resemblance argument entails that concepts need not share a single set of co-occurring properties to constitute a unified category.
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    • 2.If moral norms form a family-resemblance concept, the absence of reliable clustering is a descriptive fact about the concept's structure, not a defect requiring correction.
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    • 3.Mackie's moral error theory independently predicts property-cluster failure: if moral properties are metaphysically queer projections, no natural co-occurrence pattern should be expected.
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    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Turiel's domain theory, which posits the moral/conventional distinction as universal, has been challenged by Haidt's cross-cultural data showing the distinction collapses in many non-WEIRD populations.
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    • 2.When harm-based justification, authority-independence, and universality diverge systematically across cultures, no privileged combination can serve as the definitional core of morality.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
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    • 1.A reliable cluster of properties is required to set moral norms apart from other norms
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    • 2.Empirical evidence suggests authority-independence, universality, seriousness, and justification by harm, justice, or rights do not co-occur with sufficient regularity
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    Topics

    Virtue EthicsTruth & Knowledge

    Key Terms

    Authority-independence(as used in ethics)
    The quality of being able to stand on its own without needing someone in charge to tell you it's true or important.
    Cluster together(as used in logic and philosophy)
    When multiple related things consistently appear together or go hand-in-hand.
    Distinguish(as used in the philosophical argument)
    To recognize or point out how two things are different from each other.
    Moral norms(as the ethical rules embedded in societies)
    Widely accepted rules about right and wrong behavior that members of a community are expected to follow.
    Reliably(as used in epistemology)
    In a consistent and dependable way that you can count on to work correctly most of the time.
    justification(Third condition of the tripartite account of knowledge)
    The condition on a knower's belief that excludes mere luck — the belief must be held in a way that is appropriate or warranted, not merely accidentally correct.
    universality(Distinguishing the nature as such from its mode of universality)
    Not a constitutive mark of the common nature itself, but its unique and inseparable property

    Related

    A reliable cluster of properties is required to set moral norms apart from other...Empirical evidence suggests authority-independence, universality, seriousness, a...If moral norms form a family-resemblance concept, the absence of reliable cluste...Mackie's moral error theory independently predicts property-cluster failure: if ...
    +3 moreShow less
    Turiel's domain theory, which posits the moral/conventional distinction as unive...When harm-based justification, authority-independence, and universality diverge ...

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: morality-definition
    View source passageHide passage
    Turning from anthropology to psychology, one significant topic of investigation is the existence and nature of a distinction between the moral and the conventional. More specifically, the distinction at issue is between (a) acts that are judged wrong only because of a contingent convention or because they go against the dictates of some relevant authority, and (b) those that are judged to be wrong quite independently of these things, that have a seriousness to them, and that are justified by app
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Wittgenstein's family resemblance argument entails that concepts need not share ...

    Similar

    Empirical evidence suggests authority-independence, universality, seri...85%Children's intuitive features of moral demands (authority-independence...82%A reliable cluster of properties is required to set moral norms apart ...78%Certain actions and emotions can be universally valid, which requires ...78%
    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (2 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit