...that there is always a reason why the answer should be true and a reason for why the answer should be false. Ayer’s view on moral claim is incorrect because a moral claim is one that attempts to define what is right or wrong. Anti-moral realists believe that emotivism is more influential and moral realists believe that there should be a legit reason behind every answer. The debate between moral realists and anti-realists assumes a variety of claims can be recognized as moral claims. In my opinion, moral realists have common sense. With that advantage, there are a number of powerful arguments on why moral realism is the right way to go which include: the knowledge of a moral realist, the realism/antirealism debate, moral cognitivism and descriptivism, and the truth in moral judgements. “A moral realist believes that there is at least one moral fact, and moral facts are not reducible to non-moral facts. Moral statements are true or false, and at least one moral statement is true. An anti-realist merely disagrees with the moral realist in some respect” (Gray). The moral realist may cause an argument for the view that moral facts do exist as followed by: moral sentences are sometimes but not always true, and a sentence is true only if the truth-making relation, that supports it, that makes it true. In order for a moral sentence to be true, the “things” that...
Words: 1304 - Pages: 6
...Ethics Essay John Doe ETH316 March 17, 2014 Cherie Barnes Ethics Essay Throughout history large diverse groups of people have lived together in communities of many types. All have made assumptions about who, what, and why we value what we value and what is important in each individual person’s lives. A big part of these assumptions are how each individual feels about what is right and what is wrong, as well as what actions are legal. These assumptions are grounded in ethics but what is ethics? According to Boylan (2009), in chapter one: Some view ethics as all about intuiting what is true from some other realm. Others think that it is a conventional linguistic/cultural exercise at descriptivism. Still others…believe that it is about realistic assessments about the world that inform upon the grounding of normativity. Thus, for this author, ethics is the science concerning the “right and wrong” of human action. Philosophers throughout time have studied these assumptions and came up with many theories. Three of the most popular are: Virtue Theory, Utilitarianism, and Deontological Ethics. This essay will compare the similarities and differences between the three. Virtue theory is also called character ethics. Many people use the Boy Scout law as an example of virtue theory. A Boy Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous; Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent. Virtue Ethics takes the viewpoint that all humans should...
Words: 777 - Pages: 4
...------------------------------------------------- Top of Form Bottom of Form Understanding Prescriptive vs. Descriptive Grammar When people hear about linguistics, they often believe that linguists are very much like the character Henry Higgins in the play My Fair Lady, who expresses sentiments like in the following song, where he bemoans the state of English and the lack of proper pronunciation: However, as you will learn in this first week of class, there are two different ways that language has been talked about in disciplines that focus on the use of language. We can talk about these different approaches to language as descriptive grammar vs. prescriptive grammar. Prescriptive grammar describes when people focus on talking about how a language should or ought to be used. One way to remember this association is to think of going to a doctor’s office. When a doctor gives you a prescription for medication, it often includes directions about how you should take your medication as well as what you should not do when taking your medication. In a similar way, a prescriptive grammar tells you how you should speak, and what type of language to avoid. This is commonly found in English classes as well as other language classes, where the aim is to teach people how to use language in a very particular (typically described as ‘proper’ or ‘correct’) way. Descriptive grammar, on the other hand, focuses on describing the language as it is used, not saying how it should be used. For...
Words: 1316 - Pages: 6
...Evaluate the idea that prescriptivists are correct when they suggest that technology is having a negative impact on language use Prescriptivism is a set of rules that govern one variety, or manner, of speaking against another. It implies a view that some forms of language are incorrect, improper or lack communicative effect. It deals with the syntax and word structures of a language and is intended to aid to the learning of that particular language. Descriptivism is the belief that description is more significant or important to teach, study and practice. It’s a non-judgmental approach to language and focuses on how it is actually spoken or written and allows that native language of people to flourish. According to David Crystal, he was a descriptivist. His theory named ‘Tide Metaphor’ suggests that language is like a tide, and is constantly changing, bringing with it a new selection of words and taking out others in a natural and progressive way. Whereas John Humphreys, who is a well known prescriptivist said ‘Unless you get into the habit of being precise you will be open to misunderstanding.’ This is a common prescriptivist view. I believe in the descriptivist point of view when looking at the impact technology has had on our language use. Text messages have evolved into something where lexis is not necessarily needed. Emoticons or emoji’s can be used without the aid of anything else to represent a feeling of one person to another. Also, regarding emails, which can use...
Words: 1401 - Pages: 6
...What is Linguistics? According to Professor David Crystal, Linguistics is the science of language. It is the subject whose practitioners devote their energy to understanding why human language is the way it is. They study the history, acquisition, structure, and use of as many languages as possible. In general, Linguistics studies the nature of human language. It aims to uncover the general structure of natural language which is not dependent on individual languages and ways in which languages can be described. Moreover, the discipline examines the characteristics that separate human language from other sign and communication systems. Both in teaching and research, language is studied in a versatile manner from the level of sounds to complete sentences and texts, their meanings and entire spoken discourses. Moreover, Linguistics studies regional, social and temporal changes occurring in language, context-related use of language and production, and understanding processes of linguistic messages from the perspective of individual psychology. Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. There are many approaches to the study of language, emphasizing different scientific traditions and aspects of the subject. Two broad divisions are the following: Theoretical Linguistics: the study of the structural properties of language, e.g., the rules or constraints that govern the formation and interpretation of words and sentences in the world's languages. Experimental...
Words: 2023 - Pages: 9
...Metaethics Metaethics is a branch of analytic philosophy that explores the status, foundations, and scope of moral values, properties, and words. Whereas the fields of applied ethics and normative theoryfocus on what is moral, metaethics focuses on what morality itself is. Just as two people may disagree about the ethics of, for example, physician-assisted suicide, while nonetheless agreeing at the more abstract level of a general normative theory such as Utilitarianism, so too may people who disagree at the level of a general normative theory nonetheless agree about the fundamental existence and status of morality itself, or vice versa. In this way, metaethics may be thought of as a highly abstract way of thinking philosophically about morality. For this reason, metaethics is also occasionally referred to as “second-order” moral theorizing, to distinguish it from the “first-order” level of normative theory. Metaethical positions may be divided according to how they respond to questions such as the following: * Ÿ What exactly are people doing when they use moral words such as “good” and “right”? * Ÿ What precisely is a moral value in the first place, and are such values similar to other familiar sorts of entities, such as objects and properties? * Ÿ Where do moral values come from—what is their source and foundation? * Ÿ Are some things morally right or wrong for all people at all times, or does morality instead vary from person to person, context to context...
Words: 21310 - Pages: 86
