Class notes on the introduction to Ethics/Logic

(Originally written February 2, 2006 in Book 21)

Topic 1: Introduction to Ethics/Logic

A. Ethics: the philosophy/study of morality

1) Ethics: both a collective singular and plural
2) Moral vs. amoral/nonmoral
3) Unique contemporary challenge: technology
4) Rae's method: combining Biblical studies and philosophy [General revelation and special revelation]
5) Categories and systems (Rae pp. 15-18)
a) Descriptive ethics is basically sociology
b) Normative ethics makes ethical judgments (normative ethics is the focus of this class)
c) Metaethics investigates the meaning of moral language
d) aretaic ethics focuses on a person's motives for actions
e) deontological systems
f) teleological systems
g) relativsim
6) Key Questions
a) What is right and how do we know it?
b) What is the ultimate source of moral authority?
c) Can we do ethics/be moral without God/religion?
d) What is the relationship between spirituality, morality and law?

General Revelation is affirmed by Scripture: Romans 1 & Psalms 19

B. Logic
1) Induction
a) reasoning from the specific to the general
b) the scientific method
c) uses four types of evidence
i. examples (real or hypothetical)
ii. analogies
iii. authoritative testimony
iv. statistics
d) tests the truthfulness of conclusion
e) induction can at best lead to a probability
2) Deduction
a) reasoning from the general to the specific
b) a syllogism is the form of a deductive argument (premises and a conclusion)
c) the trueness of a deductive argument has true premises and a valid conclusion