The Is/Ought Gap pt. II: On Its Implications for Reductionism and Intuitionism

I’ve very much enjoyed the excellent discussions that have been occurring in the comments section of my recent post on the Is/ought gap. All of the commentators have been provocative and informative, but Larry posted some fantastically critical remarks of two positions I was advancing in that post, (I) that the is/ought thesis has no […]

Wedgwood on Moral Knowledge and Moral Epistemology pt I

Section Three: The Epistemology of Normative Belief. Part I: The Status of Normative Intuitions (Part II will cover the next chapter of the section on moral epistemology, entitled, “Disagreement and the A Priori”) Wedgwood turns to the crucial question of how we might be justified in moral beliefs, using again the thesis that the intentional […]

Notes on Audi’s Moral Knowledge & Ethical Character, pt I: Moral Epistemology

I’ve frequently criticized virtue ethics on this blog, so it seems worthwhile to comment on Robert Audi’s theories on moral realism, which seek to integrate an Aristotelian virtue conception into an otherwise intuitionistic Kantianism (or Kantian intuitionism; Audi admits either description of his view works, but as his epistemology is intuitionistic for the most part, […]

A Critique of Jonathan Dancy’s “Moral Reasons” (Against Dancy’s Particularism)

As noted in a previous entry, I recently acquired a copy of Dancy’s Moral Reasons, the most systematic contemporary account of moral particularism on offer, due to a concern that particularism might be being dismissed unfairly. Dancy is a brilliant philosopher, and his work is a joy to read, as he makes compelling and excitingly […]

The Argument From Disagreement (and moral vs. non-moral facts, realism and intuitionism)

Earlier today I posted an entry on how ethical dilemmas and moral disagreements can be caused by disagreement on the non-moral facts of a case, such that moral disagreements aren’t by themselves reasons to doubt the objectivity of morality, as the moral anti-realist holds; now seems a good time to explore the ways in which […]

House of Cards’ Frank Underwood (and virtue ethics, moral explanations, and counterfactuals)

I tend to be skeptical of virtue ethics, on a metaethical level, due to the implausibility of attributing moral properties to persons – for me, moral properties seem like the sort of entity that might only obtain for actions and states of affairs – but Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood in House of Cards seems to […]

MLK (and moral progress, knowledge, biases and cultural diversity)

The Washington Post has recently been indulging its readership in a series of articles proclaiming that a new progressive movement is taking form, and that changing demographics in battleground states suggest that Democratic presidents will become a norm. As a bleeding heart liberal – I was fairly progressive before living in Denmark, but seeing socialist […]