What Makes Moral Claims True? Korsgaard versus Brewer on Meta-Ethics and Practical Unity

Date

2014

Authors

Walker, Brandon

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Worldwide access

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Abstract

Among those philosophers who think that moral claims are sometimes true, there are two basic positions about what makes these claims true: realism and constructivism. Realists hold that moral claims are true because some thing (a moral fact, property, form, etc.) makes them true; constructivists hold that moral claims are true because they are binding on rational beings just as such, either because they are the product of certain of our activities in their ideal form or because of some feature of our nature. In this thesis, I present in detail the view of a leading thinker in each camp, then explore how each might incorporate, evaporate, or otherwise deal with some of the concerns that guide the other's project, focusing specifically on the issue of practical unity.

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Keywords

Kantian ethics., Talbot Brewer., Meta-ethics., Christine Korsgaard., Aristotelian ethics., Agency., Realism., Constructivism.

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