Contemporary Metaethics: An IntroductionThis new edition of Alexander Miller’s highly readable introduction to contemporary metaethics provides a critical overview of the main arguments and themes in twentieth- and twenty-first-century contemporary metaethics. Miller traces the development of contemporary debates in metaethics from their beginnings in the work of G. E. Moore up to the most recent arguments between naturalism and non-naturalism, cognitivism and non-cognitivism. From Moore’s attack on ethical naturalism, A. J. Ayer’s emotivism and Simon Blackburn’s quasi-realism to anti-realist and best opinion accounts of moral truth and the non-reductionist naturalism of the ‘Cornell realists’, this book addresses all the key theories and ideas in this field. As well as revisiting the whole terrain with revised and updated guides to further reading, Miller also introduces major new sections on the revolutionary fictionalism of Richard Joyce and the hermeneutic fictionalism of Mark Kalderon. The new edition will continue to be essential reading for students, teachers and professional philosophers with an interest in contemporary metaethics. |
Contents
Emotivism and the Rejection of NonNaturalism | |
Blackburns QuasiRealism | |
Gibbards NormExpressivism | |
Mackies ErrorTheory the Argument from Queerness | |
JudgementDependent Accounts of Moral Qualities | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
account of moral actually analysis argue argument from queerness attitude Ayer best opinion Blackburn brother to murder categorical causal ceteris paribus chapter claim cognitive access cognitivism cognitivist colour commitments concept Cornell Realists desire disapproval DISENTANGLING dispositional distinction emotivism epistemology errortheory ethical evaluative example explanatory false fictionalist FregeGeach problem getting little brother Gibbard Harman Humean instrumental rationality internalist Jones judgementdependent Kalderon logical Mackie’s McDowell McDowell’s metaethics methodological naturalism modus ponens Moore’s moral discourse moral facts moral fictionalism moral judgement moral judgements express moral modus ponens moral properties moral realism motivation murder is wrong natural properties naturalistic non noncognitivist nonnaturalism nonnaturalist normative notion objection one’s phenomenological philosophical platitudes plausible predicate priori program explanation projectivism propositional psychological quasirealism quasirealist question Railton rational realism reason reductionism relevant semantic sense sensibilities sentences Smith someone sort Sturgeon supervenience theory things true truthconditions TwinEarth vindicatory explanation