An Introduction to Contemporary Metaethics provides a highly readable critical overview of the main arguments and themes in twentieth-century and contemporary metaethics. It traces the development of contemporary debates in metaethics from their beginnings in the work of G. E. Moore up to the most recent arguments between naturalism and non-naturalism, cognitivism and non-cognitivism. • A highly readable critical overview of the main arguments and themes in twentieth century and contemporary metaethics. • Asks: Are there moral facts? Is there such a thing as moral truth? Is moral knowledge possible? • Traces the development of contemporary debates in metaethics from their beginnings in the work of G. E. Moore up to the most recent debates between naturalism and non-naturalism, cognitivism and noncognitivism. • Provides for the first time a critical survey of famous figures in twentieth century metaethics such as Moore, Ayer and Mackie together with in-depth discussions of contemporary philosophers such as Blackburn, Gibbard, Wright, Harman, Railton, Sturgeon, McDowell and Wiggins. ~ Product Description

Table of Contents

• • Preface
  • 1    Introduction    1
  • 2    Moore’s Attack on Ethical Naturalism    10
  • 3    Emotivism and the Rejection of Non-Naturalism    26
  • 4    Blackburn’s Quasi-Realism    52
  • 5    Gibbard’s Norm-Expressivism    95
  • 6    Mackie’s ‘Error-Theory’ and the Argument from Queerness    111
  • 7    ‘Best Opinion’ Accounts of Moral Qualities    128
  • 8    Naturalism 1: Cornell Realism    138
  • 9    Naturalism 2: Reductionism    178
  • 10    Contemporary Non-Naturalism: McDowell’s Moral Realism    243
  • App    Sense, Reference, Semantic Value and Truth-Conditions    284
  • Notes    287
  • References    305
  • Index    315