POBLACION, Kirsten Gaven R.

CBET 01-102 P

1. Define the open question argument.

“The open question argument is the heart of G.E. Moore’s case against
ethical naturalism. Ethical naturalism is the view that goodness, rightness, etc.
are natural properties; roughly, the sorts of properties that can be investigated by
the natural sciences.” In my own perspective, the open question argument is
something that would often puzzle people out. Let’s take the statement “"I know
he is a vegan, but does he eat meat?”. The said statement is an example of a
closed question, because it is stated that HE is a vegan, and we all know that
vegans don’t eat meat. Now, all questions that attempt to identify morality with
some set of observable, natural properties will always be an open question. It is
something similar to questions that are unclear or has no definite answer; it
would sometimes confuse people what should the real answer is, or how they
should answer the question.

2. Construct your own definition of good based on the passage.

According to Moore, the property of goodness could lead to three possible
answers: goodness is a complex property; goodness is a simple property
wherein it cannot be broken down by analysis into parts and that goodness is no
property at all, hence the word “good” is meaningless. In my own understanding,
I could define “good” as a perspective that most people acknowledge. It could be
known by means of knowing right away what the answer to a particular question
is, or whether one person or action is good without having to look for additional
evidence that would support its “goodness”. In example to this, one person that
embraces a particular culture might say that one particular action is good.
However, people who oppose to that idea might think the opposite. Hence, the
definition of good also pertains to what you believe in.

3. How can we explain moral facts through non-moral terms? Substantiate.

Moral facts are important because they can be seen as something certain,
hard and fast, that we can appeal to when judging someone else’s
behaviour, or when seriously considering how we ourselves should act in
a particular situation. They are real, and we can consult them as we would
a reference book. “Should I do this: yes or no?”
“Adultery is wrong.” is one example of a moral fact. Those who do not
believe on moral facts could express their preference on the given
statement by saying “one can be hurt so much by the means of betrayal.”