Scribd
Upload
31 views2 pages

Ethics Report

The document discusses non-cognitivism in ethics, which asserts that moral statements do not describe facts but express emotions or commands. It highlights expressivism, which conveys feelings, universal prescriptivism, which offers universal moral commands, and error theory, which claims that all moral judgments are false due to the absence of objective moral facts. Each view is illustrated with examples to clarify their distinctions.

Uploaded by

Anna
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
31 views2 pages

Ethics Report

The document discusses non-cognitivism in ethics, which asserts that moral statements do not describe facts but express emotions or commands. It highlights expressivism, which conveys feelings, universal prescriptivism, which offers universal moral commands, and error theory, which claims that all moral judgments are false due to the absence of objective moral facts. Each view is illustrated with examples to clarify their distinctions.

Uploaded by

Anna
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Expressivism and Error Theory in Ethics

What is Non-Cognitivism?
Non-cognitivism says moral statements don't describe facts about the
world. They don't state something that's true or false, like "The Earth
is round." Instead, they express something else. This "something
else" could be emotions, commands, or approvals/disapprovals.

Expressivism: More Than Just Feelings

Expressivism is a type of non-cognitivism. It suggests that moral


statements primarily express the speaker's feelings or emotions.
When someone says "Torture is disgusting," they're not stating a
fact about torture's objective moral status; they're expressing their
strong negative feeling towards it. The statement "Torture is wrong"
is not a statement of fact, but an expression of disapproval.

Example: Imagine someone cuts in line. You say, "That's rude!"


You're not stating a fact about rudeness being a property of cutting in
line; you're expressing your disapproval.

Universal Prescriptivism: A Different Kind of Non-Cognitivism

Universal prescriptivism is another non-cognitivist view. It says moral


statements aren't about describing reality but are commands or
prescriptions for how we ought to act. These commands aim to be
consistent and universal (everyone should follow them), but they don't
claim to describe some objective truth.

Example: The Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have
them do unto you") isn't a statement of fact; it's a universal
prescription for behavior.

Error Theory: Moral Judgments as Mistakes

Error theory is another non-cognitivist view, but it takes a different


approach. It argues that:

1.​ There are no objective moral facts or properties in the world.


Nothing is inherently "right" or "wrong."
2.​ Moral judgments try to describe these non-existent moral facts.
3.​ Because there are no such facts, all moral judgments are
false—they're all mistakes.

Example: Someone saying "Murder is wrong" is making a claim that


is fundamentally mistaken according to error theory, because there's
no objective moral property of "wrongness" inherent in murder. The
statement is incorrect because it’s trying to describe a reality that
doesn't exist.

Main Idea Example

Expressivism Expresses feelings "That's unjust!"


and emotions.

Universal Presents universal "Always respect


Prescriptivism commands for others."
action.

Error Theory All moral statements "Murder is wrong"


are false attempts to (false, according to
describe error theory)
non-existent facts.

You might also like