Single Idea 2703

[catalogued under 22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 2. Source of Ethics / i. Prescriptivism]

Full Idea

Ethical descriptivism is the view that ethical sentence-meaning is wholly determined by truth-conditions. …Prescriptivists think there is a further element of meaning, which expresses prescriptions or evaluations or attitudes which we assent to.

Gist of Idea

Descriptivism say ethical meaning is just truth-conditions; prescriptivism adds an evaluation

Source

Richard M. Hare (Universal Prescriptivism [1991], p.452)

Book Reference

'A Companion to Ethics', ed/tr. Singer,Peter [Blackwell 1993], p.452


A Reaction

Not sure I understand either of these. If all meaning consists of truth-conditions, that will apply to ethics. If meaning includes evaluations, that will apply to non-ethics.