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Philosophy 148
Moral Arguments
The first of many distinctions:
Descriptive (what the text calls ‘non-moral’) versus
Normative (what the text calls ‘moral’) claims :
Descriptive statements are statements of the way
thing are, while normative statements are
statements about the way things ought to be.
Certainly there are many opinions about what is
considered morally correct versus morally incorrect,
but the fact that some, or even most, are of a certain
opinion is only descriptive, and not normative. We
will examine prevailing attitudes, but we will keep in
mind that the popularity of a view is no evidence of
its normative truth.
Two similar but distinct theories about
ethics:
• Subjectivism: The idea that morality is
subjective
• Cultural Relativism: The idea that morality is
relative to cultures or societies
Subjectivism disambiguated:
Descriptive:
“As a matter of fact, different
persons have different ideas
about morality”
This is true, but so obviously
true that its truth is not very
interesting.
Normative:
“Morality is determined by
what each person thinks
about it”
This is internally inconsistent,
and also comes with the
notion that everybody is by
definition morally infallible.
That is, it is so obviously
false that its falsity is not
very interesting.
Relativism disambiguated:
Descriptive
“As a matter of fact, different
cultures have different ideas
about morality”
This is true, but so obviously
true that its truth is not very
interesting.
Normative
“Morality is determined by what
each culture thinks about it”
This is internally inconsistent, and
also comes with the notion
that every culture is by
definition morally infallible
(that means no moral
progress, no moral reformers).
That is, it is so obviously false
that its falsity is not very
interesting.