The Relationship between Descriptive and Normative Claims in Morality

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The chapter focuses on a conversation between two speakers who discuss the relationship between descriptive claims and normative claims regarding moral beliefs. They debate whether there can be an objective fact of the matter in morality despite fundamental disagreement. They also question how one can justify the belief that there is no objective truth.

Tamler and Dave discuss recent work in philosophy and psychology about the differences in moral values and practices across cultures. We talk about the implications of moral diversity: does it mean that we cannot criticize that practices of other cultures? How should we regard moral disagreement? Are there objective “truths” in ethics? Somehow we need to play clips from The Big Lebowski and Pulp Fiction in order to resolve these questions.

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