Morality without Foundations A Defense of Ethical Contextualism

by Timmons, Mark

• ISBN13: 9780195117318
• ISBN10: 019511731X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-12-31
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Morality Without Foundations investigates fundamental metaethical questions about the meaning, truth, and justification of moral thought and discourse. Mark Timmons maintains that all versions of descriptivism in ethics, particularly certain accounts of moral realism, fail. He argues insteadthat a correct metaethical theory should embrace some version of non-descriptivism. Timmons defends what he calls "assertoric non-descriptivism" which, unlike traditional non-descriptivist views, holds that moral sentences are typically used to make genuine assertions. In defending this view, heexploits contextual semantics, providing him with the semantic flexibility to develop an irrealist account of moral discourse. Timmons goes on to support a contextualist moral epistemology, completing his overall version of contextualism in ethics. Like his foundationalist rivals, Timmons recognizes that there are moral beliefs that are epistemically basic in providing a basis for the justification of non-basic moralbeliefs. Yet, he agrees with the coherentist in maintaining that there are no intrinsically justified beliefs that can serve as a single foundation for a system of moral knowledge. Timmons ultimately finds that regresses of justification of moral belief end with contextually basic beliefs--moralbeliefs which, in the relevant context, are responsibly held, but in other contexts might not be suitable as regress stoppers. Timmons' novel defense of morality without foundations offers provocative reading for philosophers working in the areas of ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics. Yet, written with the student in mind, his lucid presentation of difficult ideas makes this book accessible to students and newcomers tothe field of metaethics.

Author Biography

Mark Timmons is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Arizona.

Table of Contents

Introduction	3	(6)
ONE Metaethics and Methodology	9	(23)
TWO New Wave Moral Realism	32	(39)
THREE The Argument from Moral Error	71	(36)
FOUR Contextual Moral Semantics	107	(71)
FIVE Moral Justification in Context	178	(69)
Appendix: Some Remarks on Metaethical Rationalism	247	(6)
References	253	(10)
Index	263