Greetings,
David:
"Is morality at the metaphysical level the same as morality at the ethical?"
Good question, but for the MoQ I suggest that the answer has to be an unequivocal yes. Your
dictionary definition doesn't address the question of a moral use of the word, 'good,' except
obliquely as a form of naturalism. An argument could, I suppose, be constructed that a moral
decision is one that produces a favourable result but then, is favourable good? Back to the
naturalistic fallacy.
I'm all for pragmatism by the way, but pragmatism has a relativistic, situationist ethic which ain't
the MoQ.
Magnus:
"Let me ask you one thing Struan. If you were given such a meta-ethical answer as to why the MoQ
"has value at the core", how could we, or you, decide whether it's a good answer or not?" Could
that be answered at a meta-meta-ethical level? And that answer? Would that be a good answer?
As you say, if good was the naturalistic "good", then it would fall into this trap, but the good
of MoQ is where the road ends. The MoQ has no need to justify why something good is good, because
that only leads to another good down the road. Of course, sometimes it's possible to justify one
good in terms of another good, but the point is that the MoQ refuses to use meta-metaphysics, not
because of fear of the fallacy trap, but because it recognises the futility of it.
Actually, you do the same thing. You said: "metaphysics has value", there's no other way to
express it. We have to use words like good and "has value" because other words are derived
from them."
Which is precisely the position of G.E Moore and the non-naturalists. ("If I am asked 'What is
good?' my answer is that good is good and there is an end to the matter").
As you seem to espouse a non-naturalist ethic, Magnus, may I ask you how you discern this 'good?'
Intuition perhaps? Horse pointed out that this whole question derives from the fact/value debate
which brings me to the second question. Can we ascertain what is good from empirical evidence? If we
can, then how? Equally, if we can, then how does this square with non-naturalism?
Struan
------------------------------------------
Struan Hellier
< mailto:struan@shellier.freeserve.co.uk>
"All our best activities involve desires which are disciplined and
purified in the process."
(Iris Murdoch)
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