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.