Tutorial � Watkins, ethics III � moral facts

Greg Detre

11/5/01

 

non-naturalist might like supervenience

but Mackie + Blackburn use supervenience as an argument against

common parlance: morality supervenience

same circumstances, same morals

anti-realist � it�s just a matter of feeling

feelings are clued into natural facts of the world � Humean argument appeals to best explanation

is morality an independent realm of facts, or just feeling?

need for observing minds

Blackburn � moral judgements, not talk of facts

level of moral discourse not ontology


metaphysical argument from queerness

inconceivable what moral facts would be

objective + prescriptive � action-guiding by definition

 

epistemological argument from queerness

consensus

intuition � subject to error, + disagreement, perception

not empirically verifiable

naturalist: senses

 

colour = power to produce the senation in the receiver under standard circumstances

colour, cf Jackson�s Mary

good���� causing pleasure

������ = having the power to cause warm glow in normal evaluator

gives standard of correctness

discrepancies arise under exceptional circumstances or non-normal perceiver

normal average

�������������� = virtuous (Aristotelian)

 

how define virtuousity in non-circular terms???

specification of virtuous person

Aristotle � someone who is functioning well + rationally

quasi-biological (teleological)

needs to be in terms of PQs

 

Questions

what about supervening relation???

but all morality is mind-dependent for its consequences???

neutral until minds occur???

 

reason 2Q