Plato is a Moral Cognitivist - revision notes

8/13/2019 Plato is a Moral Cognitivist - revision notes

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METAETHICAL I ---------------------------------------------------------- I I COGNITIVIST NON-COGNITIVIST I I -------------------------------------- ----------------------- I I I II

TRANSCENDENTALISM NATURALISM NON-NATURALISM EMOTIVISM PRESCRIPTIVISM I & INTUITIONISM I ---------------------------- I I RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHICALTRANSCENDENTALISM TRANSCENDENTALISM eg Plato & Kant

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PLATO IS A MORAL COGNITIVIST - more specifically a Philosophical Transcendentalist - MORAL JUDGEMENTS ARE TRUE BY REFERENCE TO TRANSCENDENT CONCEPTS/TRUTHS thatexist in a perfect form in a conceptual realm.

This conceptual realm of PERFECT FORMS CAN BE KNOWN THROUGH THE PURE REASON of t

he mind itself.

There are MANY FORMS - not just the ethical ones (Form of the Good, .. of Justice, .. of Courage etc) also the prefect vision of everything on earth (Form of Beauty .. of Man, of Trangle, of Bed etc) [however the key form is the Form of the Good]

These FORMS ARE (characteristics) - absolutely PERFECT - ETERNAL = outside time - IMMUTABLE = unchanging - most REAL of all things = they depend on themselves and nothing else - they are ONLY objects of knowledge

in contrast the real world is imperfect, transitory, changing, tangible, uncertain=based on opinion

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PLATO'S MORAL COGNITIVISM RESTS ON FORM OF GOOD BEING REAL AND KNOWABLE

SO ANY ARGUMENTS WHICH UNDERMINES THE FORMS WILL UNDERMINE THE FORM OF THE GOOD


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& HIS MORAL COGNITIVISM

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Arguments for and against the Forms

1 - ARGUMENTS FROM UNIVERSALS

HOW DO WE RECOGNISE THINGS ? why are tables recognised as tables ... because they share the quality of tableness - we know this BY REFERENCE TO THE FORM of Table - it is not physical (it cannot be destroyed like an individual table) - the real understanding and definition of a table rests on knowing the Form of Table.same for Beauty and Good. So beauty definitely not in eye of beholder. Not arelative thing but based on knowing underlying or more accurately transcendent Form.

CA -PLATO SAYS THAT THE FORMS ARE UNIVERSAL AND RELATE TO REAL EXISTING THINGS (albeit in his perfect realm) BUT SOME UNIVERSALS DO NOT SEEM TO RELATE TO DEFINABLE THING - eg scruff (of neck), knack, sake - these are universals without any real perfect form - any rea

l form at all - SDO WHAT ARE THEY - LANGUAGE USAGE & CONVENTIONS OF EVERYDAY LIFE

2 - ARGUMENTS FROM KNOWLEDGE, OPINION & IGNORANCE

I say I know x (eg world is flat) - x is shown to be untrue - so I did not know x - so x was not true knowledgeso for Plato REAL KNOWLEDGE IS INFALLIBLE - WHAT YOU (truly) KNOW, MUST BE TRUE for Plato KNOWLEDGE ONLY COVERS THINGS THAT ARE ULTIMATELY REAL hence

KNOWLEDGE ONLY REALLY APPLIES TO AN UNCHANGING WORLD - the realm ofForms in contrast for Plato IGNORANCE IS TO DO WITH THINGS THAT ARE NOT REAL - they ultimatelyrelate to a realm of nothingness

OPINION LIES IN BETWEEN - based in our transitory world (of becoming) - there can be no true knowledge in our world - the only true knowledge is byreference to the Forms that lie beyond itCA - KNOWLEDGE CAN BE ABOUT THINGS IN HERE & NOW - EG MY DATE OF BIRTH - JUST DEPENDS ON EVIDENTIAL SUPPORTCA - KNOWLEDGE IS NOT NECESSARILY ABOUT THINGS INDEPENDENT OF HUMAN EXISTENCE -eg WE CAN MEANINGFULLY AND ACCURATELY KNOW ABOUT THE EQUATOR, EVEN THOUGH IT (&

all the lines of latitude) IS A CONCEPTUAL FICTION made up by man

3 - ARGUMENTS FROM GRADING when we evaluate things we do it (normally unconsciously) by reference tothe perfect Form, eg apples, beautiful girls we GRADE BY REFERENCE TO THE PERFECT FORMCA - WE CAN GRADE NUMBERS (bigger, smaller etc) WITHOUT HAVING A 'PERFECT FORM O


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F NUMBER' IN MIND WE CAN THAT THINGS ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS WITHOUT HAVING TO BELIEVE THAT APERFECT FORM EXISTS (eg given is shorter hospital waiting lisyts - no need to have form of perfect hospital without waiting lists)

4 - ARGUMENT FROM POINTLESSNESS ONLY THE FORM OF THE GOOD IS GOOD ALL THE FORMS ARE PERFECT AND THEREFORE MUST DEPEND ON THE FORM OF THE GOOD (to be goodest) THE FORM OF THE GOOS GIVES THE UNIVERSE (& everything we do) ITS POINT

CA - UNIVERSE MAY NOT HAVE A POINTCA - THE POINT OF WHAT WE DO MAY BE BASED ON OUR OWN HUMAN VALES, HOPES, DESIRESIN THIS WORLD

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there are also contradictions aimed at individual forms

eg FORM OF TIME like all forms HAS TO BE ETERNAL & SO STAND OUTSIDE TIME

BUT THEN IT WOULD BE TEMPORTAL AND ATEMPORAL = CONTRADICTION

eg FORM OF MURDER = perfect murder = eternal and non-physical - EXISTED PRIOR TOANYONE BEING MURDERED ??!!

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there is the PROBLEM OF INFINITE REGRESS = THIRD MAN ARGUMENT IT ARISES FDROM THE FORM ENCOMPASSING BOTH THE PERFECT AND THE UNIVERSALTWO MEN HAVE IN COMMON THEIR MAN-NESS = FORM OF MANTHIRD MAN = SPECIFIC EXAMPLE OF A PERFECT MAN

but THEN NEED A HIGHER FORM OF MAN

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ONLY A FEW CAN KNOW FORM OF GOOD - NOT EVEN PLATO REACHED THAT STAGE - VERY ELITIST -NO GOOD FOR GENERAL MORALITY UNLESS WE FOLLOW THE FEW IN THE KNOWBUT THEN NORMALLY ETHICS IS VIEWED AS TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR OWN ACTIONS

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EVEN IF YOU KNOW FORM OF GOOD - SYSTEM IS TOO ABSTRACT TO BE OF ANY USE IN REALLIFE - DOES NOT YIELD VERY CONCRETE GUIDANCEIRRELEVANT TO THIS WORLD

PUT IN ANOTHER WAY PRACTICAL AND WORKABLE KNOWLEDGE CANNOT DEPEND ON TRANSCENDENT FORMS NEEDS TO BE IMMANENT TO THIS WORLD - NATURAL


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EVEN IF YOU ACCEPT THE FACTS - WILL THAT ENTAIL GOOD BEHAVIOUR = problem of moving from facts to values

crits - Plato assumes that if we understand the Good we will be good - a wise man must necessarily be virtuous but what of being weak willed - Plato says must be incomplete understanding - immoral behaviour is due to imperfect education - if had full knowledge would behave (cf juvenile delinquency) - others (eg Hume) need passion as well

1 - If we want to live a worthwhile life and construct an ideal society we mustknow and understand what goodness consists of.

2 - we must find and know the essential nature of goodness that is the universaland significant feature of all good acts = the first principle = the Form of the Good.

3 - if we understand the Form of the Good we can assess moral acts against it (we must know the good to act morally) and deduce further truths

4 - Form of the Good what people desire (all want it - it motivates action purpose of all action an ideal reality - the foundation of excellence an unchanging & constant truth

5 - Plato assumes what is true is real - since the Form of the Good does not exist in the physical world it must exist in a transcendent realm

6 - he uses an analogy to describe it - the Sun qv table at 140

7 - some stuff on living the Good life

8 - crits - Plato's account of the Good is sketchy and mystical rather than clear and rational

9 - crits - problem of moving from facts to values

10- crits - no content in his definition of the Good

11- crits - identification of the Good with a certain type of Justice involvingachieving harmony by rewarding people according to their deserts can be questioned on all counts. why reward-why not equal, why harmony-why not competition, why

desert-according to what principle-why is doing something well-virtuous, claimis = confusing function & purpose

12- crits - in defining Forms Platon confuses the typical with the ideal - eg simile of the ship - again function & purpose - there is no agreed criterion - in most common uses good is merely arecommendation - not an objective quality - not a uniform quality

13- crits - Plato assumes that if we understand the Good we will be good - a wise man must necessarily be virtuous


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but what of being weak willed - Plato says must be incomplete understanding - immoral behaviour is due to imperfect education - if had full knowledge would behave (cf juvenile delinquency) - others (eg Hume) need passion as well - Plato arguably unclear on separating pleasure & rationality (p142)

14- Plato is not giving an account of enlightened self-interest - ie you will see that it is your interest to do Good - rather that if you know the Good - you will be overwhelmingly drawn to do it

15- crits - so can we be overwhelmingly drawn to the Good and not do it ? - does a proposition that is necessarily true carry with it prescriptive force ? - Aristotle offers the incontinent man - know the truth but be moved by appetite (desire) - would need habit & practice and probably something more

moral reasonng is not logical reasoning

we accept the logic of a proposition and what it entails but these links do notapply in moral reasoning

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Plato is a Moral Cognitivist - revision notes