Ethical subjectivism

Ethical subjectivism

Ethical subjectivism is the meta-ethical view which claims that:

  1. Ethical sentences express propositions.
  2. Some such propositions are true.
  3. Those propositions are about the attitudes of people.[1]

This makes ethical subjectivism a form of cognitivism. Ethical subjectivism stands in opposition to moral realism, which claims that moral propositions refer to objective facts, independent of human opinion; to error theory, which denies that any moral propositions are true in any sense; and to non-cognitivism, which denies that moral sentences express propositions at all.

The most common forms of ethical subjectivism are also forms of moral relativism, with moral standards held to be relative to each culture or society (c.f. cultural relativism), or even to every individual. The latter view, as put forward by Protagoras, holds that there are as many distinct scales of good and evil as there are subjects in the world.[2] However there are also universalist forms of subjectivism such as ideal observer theory (which claims that moral propositions are about what attitudes a hypothetical ideal observer would hold) and divine command theory (which claims that moral propositions are about what attitudes God holds).

Ethical subjectivism is compatible with moral absolutism, in that the individual or society to whose attitudes moral propositions refer can hold some moral principle to apply regardless of circumstances. (That is, a moral principle can be relative to an individual, but not relative to circumstances). Ethical subjectivism is also compatible with moral relativism when that is taken to mean the opposite of absolutism, that is, as the claim that moral precepts should be adjusted to circumstances, as in consequentialism.[3]

Notes

  1. ^ Brandt 1959, p. 153: "[Objectivism and subjectivism] have been used more vaguely, confusedly, and in more different senses than the others we are considering. We suggest as a convenient usage, however, that a theory be called subjectivist if and only if, according to it, any ethical assertion implies that somebody does, or somebody of a certain sort under certain conditions would, take some specified attitude toward something."
  2. ^ "moral subjectivism is that species of moral relativism that relativizes moral value to the individual subject". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
  3. ^ Brandt 1959, p. 154: "A subjectivist, clearly, can be either an absolutist or a relativist."

References



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Individualist ethical subjectivism — (sometimes simply ethical subjectivism or moral subjectivism) is the meta ethical view which claims that: # Ethical sentences express propositions. # Those propositions are about the attitudes of people. [Brandt 1959, p. 153: [Objectivism and… …   Wikipedia

  • Subjectivism — is a philosophical tenet that accords primacy to subjective experience as fundamental of all measure and law. In extreme forms like Solipsism, it may hold that the nature and existence of every object depends solely on someone s subjective… …   Wikipedia

  • subjectivism —    Subjectivism about an area holds that reality in that area is subjective, that is, it is determined by the subject. Global subjectivism is the view that each person determines the whole of reality for him or herself. This view, though widely… …   Christian Philosophy

  • Ethical naturalism — (also called moral naturalism or naturalistic cognitivistic definism[1]) is the meta ethical view which claims that: Ethical sentences express propositions. Some such propositions are true. Those propositions are made true by objective features… …   Wikipedia

  • Ethical non-naturalism — is the meta ethical view which claims that: Ethical sentences express propositions. Some such propositions are true. Those propositions are made true by objective features of the world, independent of human opinion. These moral features of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Ethical formalism — is a type of ethical theory which defines moral judgements in terms of their logical form (e.g., as laws or universal prescriptions ) rather than their content (e.g., as judgements about what actions will best promote human well being). The term… …   Wikipedia

  • subjectivism — [səb jek′tiv iz΄əm] n. 1. the philosophic theory that all knowledge is subjective and relative, never objective 2. any philosophic theory that restricts knowledge in some way to the subjective elements, as by limiting external reality to what can …   English World dictionary

  • subjectivism — /səbˈdʒɛktəvɪzəm/ (say suhb jektuhvizuhm) noun 1. the philosophical theory that one mind can know nothing but itself and its characteristics. See idealism (def. 5a). 2. any epistemological theory that attaches preponderating importance to the… …  

  • Objectivity (philosophy) — Objectivity is a central philosophical concept which has been variously defined by sources. A proposition is generally considered to be objectively true when its truth conditions are met and are mind independent that is, not met by the judgment… …   Wikipedia

  • Meta-ethics — In philosophy, meta ethics is the branch of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties, statements, attitudes, and judgments. Meta ethics is one of the three branches of ethics generally recognized by philosophers, the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”