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Full Idea
Cognitivists think morals are discovered by reason.
Gist of Idea
Cognitivists think morals are discovered by reason
Source
Owen Flanagan (The Problem of the Soul [2002], p.301n)
Book Ref
Flanagan,Owen: 'The Problem of the Soul' [Basic Books 2003], p.301
A Reaction
I take cognitivism to be (strictly) the view that morals are knowable in principle. Our intellects might not be up to the task (and so we might have to ask the gods what is right). There is also the possibility that morals might be known by intuition.
| 429 | To God (though not to humans) all things are beautiful and good and just [Heraclitus] |
| 5911 | Moral duties are as fundamental to the universe as the axioms of mathematics [Ross] |
| 5926 | The beauty of a patch of colour might be the most important fact about it [Ross] |
| 23683 | Moral norms are objective, connected to facts about human goods [Foot, by Hacker-Wright] |
| 22451 | All people need affection, cooperation, community and help in trouble [Foot] |
| 22392 | Morality is inescapable, in descriptive words such as 'dishonest', 'unjust' and 'uncharitable' [Foot] |
| 5355 | Cognitivists think morals are discovered by reason [Flanagan] |