Single Idea 2706

[catalogued under 22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 2. Source of Ethics / h. Expressivism]

Full Idea

Emotivists concluded too hastily that because naturalism and intuitionism are false, you cannot reason about moral questions, because they assumed that the only questions you can reason about are factual ones.

Gist of Idea

Emotivists mistakenly think all disagreements are about facts, and so there are no moral reasons

Source

Richard M. Hare (Universal Prescriptivism [1991], p.455)

Book Reference

'A Companion to Ethics', ed/tr. Singer,Peter [Blackwell 1993], p.455


A Reaction

Personally I have a naturalistic view of ethics (based on successful functioning, as indicated by Aristotle), so not my prob. Why can't we reason about expressive emotions? We reason about art.