Emotivism

META-ETHICS
Non-cognitive theories:
EMOTIVISM and
PRESCRIPTIVISM
Moral disagreement seems to be

widespread in our culture
Abortion
Gay marriage
Capital punishment
Genetically modified
food
Legalisation of
marijuana
Moral disagreement seems to be even

more widespread between different
cultures (& historical periods)
Slavery
Cannibalism
Female circumcision
The use of terrorism
for political ends
Suttee (or Sati)
People argue about moral

issues
In a moral argument, we often give people reasons aimed

at persuading them that our own position is correct and
that their position is incorrect.
A different sort of case: chocolate vs. vanilla ice cream
Chocolate
ice cream
tastes
better
Nope, its
vanilla all
the way
Intervention
We recognise that some moral issues are very

complex and difficult, and that our view on those
issues might be mistaken.
On other issues, we are confident that our own
views are correct and that people who do not share
our views are mistaken. Sometimes we are even
prepared to try to stop people acting on moral
views that we take to be mistaken.
Examples: suttee & the use of terrorism
Our Central question: Is

Morality Objective?
About 65 million years ago an asteroid collided

with the earth, and this led to the extinction of the
dinosaurs.
There is a prime number between 123,456 and
654,321.
All the shots fired at John F. Kennedy the day he
was killed were fired by Lee Harvey Oswald.
Saddam Hussein was executed
On Thursday, March 27th 2008, Mr. Bennett wore
odd socks during his philosophy class.
Objective
Note two things about these sentences:
Each of these sentences is either true or false.

The truth or falsity of these sentences does not
depend at all on who makes the claim, when the
claim is made or where the claim is made.
When a sentence has these properties, well

say that it makes an objective claim.
Some sentences are not

objective
Example of a sentence
that isnt true or false:
Please pass the

ketchup.
Go to hell!
Some sentences are not

objective
Examples of a
sentences whose truth
depends on who
makes them or when /
where they are made:
Im the oldest person

in this room.
Its raining.
Im the
oldest
Im the
oldest
The Appeal and the Puzzles of

the View that Morality is
Objective
The Appeal: It would make sense of the fact that we

often talk and act as though moral claims are correct or
incorrect, and that we sometimes seem to think that
people (including people in different cultures) have
moral views which are mistaken.
Capital
punishment is
right (in some
cases).
No! Capital
punishment is
always
wrong.

Objective
The Puzzles
Metaphysics: If some
moral claims are true,
then there must be
facts that make them
true. What could these
facts possibly be?

Objective
Epistemology: How
can we know which
moral claims are true?
Is abortion
morally
permissible?
Emotivism
A moral theory that suggests that when we

say something is wrong, we are merely
expressing an emotional reaction to a
certain set of events or facts.
There are no facts about what we say
morally, were just expressing an emotional
preference.
Emotivism
The distinction between asserting you have a

feeling and expressing that feeling.
Examples
I am disgusted by your behavior. vs.

I am in severe pain. vs. Ouch!!!!!!
I am sexually aroused. vs. .
Assertions are either true or false; expressions

of feelings are not.
Emotivism
The central idea of

Emotivism is that,
while moral claims
look like assertions,
they are actually
expressions of feeling.
Thus Emotivism is
sometimes described
as The Rah!! Boo!!
Theory.
Abortion
is morally
wrong!
Abortion
grrr!
Emotivism
Gay people ought

to be allowed to
get married.
Gay marriage
yeah!!
Emotivism and moral

reasoning
Question: according to Emotivism, whats

going on when you try to persuade someone
to have the same moral attitude as you?
Abortion is morally
wrong! Its killing an
innocent human
being, its murder
Emotivism and moral

reasoning
Unlike some other emotive expressions, the emotive expressions used

in ethical claims have a tendency to have a persuasive or magnetic
effect on listeners perhaps because of childhood conditioning.
Abortio
n.. Grr!
Eating ice
cream out of
the tub.. Ew.
Emotivism, again
So a fuller account of the meaning of a moral

sentence might be:
Abortion
is morally
wrong!
or,=
Abortion
Grrr! Please
share this
attitude.
Abortion
. Please
share this
attitude.
Advantages of Emotivism
Captures the link between ethics and

emotions.
Abortion
is morally
wrong!
Advantages of emotivism
Emotivism can explain moral disagreement:

if you think abortion is morally OK and I
think it is morally wrong, then:
Its not that one of us has a false belief, but

our desires conflict with one another.
Rachels example: I favor gun-control legislation,

and you are opposed to it
Emotivism and objectivity
Abortion
is morally
wrong!
or,=
Abortion
Grrr! Please
share this
attitude.
Abortion
. Please
share this
attitude.
Disadvantages of Emotivism
If Emotivism is correct, then morality is not

objective, thus
it makes no sense to say that other peoples moral

views are mistaken
nor does it make any sense to say that our own
previous moral views were mistaken.
Abortion
Grrr!
No it
isnt.
???
Killing Jews
is morally
OK.
THATS
NOT
TRUE!
The Emotivist account of moral argument and

moral deliberation does not distinguish
between moral arguments that
(A) invoke false factual claims, vs
(B) invoke true factual claims.
But we tend to think that moral attitudes

formed under the (b) conditions are better
justified than those formed under the (a)
conditions.
Using false factual claims to

influence emotions
Capital
punishment
is right.
But 10% of
people jailed
for murder are
later found
innocent.
Capital
punishment
is right.
But its cheaper

to jail someone
for life than try
them for the
death sentence.
Appealing to personal interest to

influence emotions
Abortion is
wrong.
If you say
that, your
sister is
immoral.
Abortion is
wrong.
An unwanted
baby wrecks
the mothers
life.
Relying on abnormal
psychological states to influence
emotions
Capital
punishment
is wrong.
Capital
punishment
is wrong.
But that
b******d
murdered
your father!
But an eye for

an eye seems
to be a good
principle of
justice, doesnt
it?
Prescriptivism
In groups of three/ four, read the handout on

PRESCRIPTIVISM and try to answer the
questions on the hand out.
Be prepared for an Apprentice-style grilling
Afterwards

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META-ETHICS

Moral disagreement seems to be

Moral disagreement seems to be even

Suttee (or Sati)

People argue about moral

In a moral argument, we often give people reasons aimed

We recognise that some moral issues are very

Our Central question: Is

About 65 million years ago an asteroid collided

Note two things about these sentences:

Each of these sentences is either true or false.

When a sentence has these properties, well

Some sentences are not

Please pass the

Some sentences are not

Im the oldest person

The Appeal and the Puzzles of

The Appeal: It would make sense of the fact that we

The Appeal and the Puzzles of

The Appeal and the Puzzles of

A moral theory that suggests that when we

The distinction between asserting you have a

I am disgusted by your behavior. vs.

Assertions are either true or false; expressions

The central idea of

Gay people ought

Emotivism and moral

Question: according to Emotivism, whats

Emotivism and moral

Unlike some other emotive expressions, the emotive expressions used

So a fuller account of the meaning of a moral

Captures the link between ethics and

Emotivism can explain moral disagreement:

Its not that one of us has a false belief, but

Rachels example: I favor gun-control legislation,

Emotivism and objectivity

If Emotivism is correct, then morality is not

it makes no sense to say that other peoples moral

The Emotivist account of moral argument and

But we tend to think that moral attitudes

Using false factual claims to

But its cheaper

Appealing to personal interest to

But an eye for

In groups of three/ four, read the handout on

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