A T a x o n o m y o f M e t a e t h i c s the theories ! Moral Anti-Realism: there are no objective moral facts. Moral Realism: there are objective moral facts. the questions Constructivism Non-Cognitivism Nihilism (Objective) Naturalism Non-Naturalism " (Huemer: (cf. “Expressivism”) (or “The Error Reductive Non-Reductive (Huemer: “Subjectivism”) Theory”) Naturalism Naturalism “Intuitionism”) Semantics • Moral claims mean • Moral utterances • Moral terms cannot • Moral claims mean • Moral terms cannot • Moral terms cannot (What do moral the same as some aren’t actually be defined in non- the same as some be defined in non- be defined in non- claims mean?) claim about claiming anything. moral terms. naturalistic moral terms. moral terms. someone’s attitudes • They are used • Moral claims claim.**** • Moral claims attribute or practices. instead to express attribute a sui a sui generis, • E.g., ‘What the “non-cognitive” generis, irreducibly irreducibly evaluative, teenagers did was attitudes, such as evaluative, non- non-natural property wrong’ might mean desires or states of natural property to to something. that the speaker disapproval, or to something. disapproves of what issue commands. they did, or that our • They are neither social conventions true nor false (cf. forbid what they did. “Boo Yankees!”) Metaphysics • There are moral • There are no moral • The sui generis, • There are moral • There are moral • There are moral (Are there moral facts. facts or properties irreducibly facts. facts. facts. facts / moral • They are subjective (and moral evaluative, non- • They are objective • They are objective • They are objective properties in the facts statements aren’t natural property facts facts. facts. world? If so, (i.e., facts involving even trying to talk moral claims are (i.e., facts involving • But there is no fact • But there is no fact what kind of subjective about them). talking about objective that can be that can be facts are they?) properties). doesn’t actually properties). expressed in non- expressed in non- • On most forms of exist. • They are natural moral terms to moral terms to constructivism, they • Thus, there are no facts (i.e., facts which they are which they are are natural facts moral facts involving natural identical. identical. (e.g., about social • Thus all moral properties). • They are natural • They are non- conventions), but on claims are false.*** facts (i.e., facts natural facts (i.e., some versions they involving natural facts involving non- are non-natural properties). natural properties). facts (e.g., about God).* Epistemology • We come to know • Since there are no • Since there are no • We come to know • We come to know • We come to know (If there are moral facts however moral facts, there is moral facts, there is moral facts however moral facts moral facts partly on moral facts, how we come to know no need to explain no need to explain we come to know indirectly, by the basis of rational do we know the facts about how we can know how we can know the natural facts to inferring their intuition. them?) attitudes or them. them. which they are existence from non- practices to which identical.** moral facts that they they are identical.** help explain. Psychology • Moral judgments are • Moral judgments are • Moral judgments are • Moral judgments • Moral judgments are • Moral judgments are (What kind of beliefs (the same non-cognitive beliefs. are beliefs. beliefs. beliefs. mental state are sort of attitude we attitudes (desires, moral have to non-moral emotions, states of judgments?) propositions). approval/ • This is called disapproval, or the Cognitivism. like).