Metaethics

Question 1

What is moral realism?

Answer 1

There are mind independent, objective moral properties and facts e.g ‘murder is wrong’ is a moral fact because the ear of murder has the mind independent moral property of wrongness.

Question 2

What is moral anti-realism?

Answer 2

Mind independent moral properties and facts don’t exist

Question 3

What is Cognitivism?

Answer 3

Moral judgements express cognitive mental states — i.e beliefs, which aim to describe reality and can be true or false

E.g when someone says ‘murder is wrong’, this means something like ‘it is true that murder is wrong’

Question 4

What is Non-cognitivism?

Answer 4

Moral judgments express non-cognitivismo mental states. They don’t aim to describe reality and can’t be true or false

E.g when someone says ‘murder is wrong’ they mean something like ‘Boo to murder!’ (Emotivism) or ‘don’t murder people!’ (Prescriptivism)