The Myth of Morality

ISBN-13: 9780521808064 / Angielski / Twarda / 2001 / 266 str.

Richard Joyce

Opis

Richard Joyce argues in this study that moral discourse is hopelessly flawed. At the heart of ordinary moral judgments is a notion of moral inescapability, or practical authority, which, upon investigation, cannot be reasonably defended. He asserts, moreover, that natural selection is to blame, in that it has provided us with a tendency to invest the world with values that it does not contain, and demands that it does not make. This original and innovative book will appeal to readers interested in the problems of moral philosophy.

Recenzje

'[T]his is a lucid, tightly argued volume, mercifully free of needless jargon. Joyce readily anticipates and addresses likely objections to both his error theory and his fictionalist proposal. … A good deal of the argument is sensible, even ingenious. … The Myth of Morality will force morality's philosophical allies to come to grips with a position that promises to reconcile morality's apparent objectivity with its problematic claims to truth. Joyce's volume offers fruitful avenues of exploration for both realists and irrealists alike.' Michael Cholbi, Utilitas

Spis treści

Preface; 1. Error theory and motivation; 2. Error theory and reasons; 3. Practical instrumentalism; 4. The relativity of reasons; 5. Internal and external reasons; 6. Morality and evolution; 7. Fictionalism; 8. Moral fictionalism; Epilogue: debunking myths; Select bibliography; Index.