PHL200Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Meta-Ethics, Normative Ethics, Applied Ethics
Document Summary
Crito presents offers a serious of reason why it would be morally wrong for socrates to refuse to from prison: if he stayed, he would be aiding his enemies in wronging him unjustly, and would thus be unjustly himself. Are moral rules shallow, or are they deeply rooted in our human nature. The nomos (a matter of convention)-phusis (human nature) controversy. E. g. driving on different sides of the road, is a matter of convention, doesn"t matter, chose 1 side over the other. The nomos-phusis controversy is a debate over the source of moral normativity. Sophists disagreed on whether moral rules are based on human nature or if they are no m a matter of convention. What is involved in making a moral judgement. Socrates"s new moral methodology is a response to the nature/convention controversy, be one of the central parts of his justification is to show merely conventional law can neverth morally binding on us because of our rational nature.
