Within Reason #114 Simon Blackburn - What is Ethical Emotivism?
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Jul 28, 2025 Simon Blackburn, a prominent philosopher known for his engaging introductions to complex ideas, dives into the world of ethical emotivism. He contrasts cognitivism and non-cognitivism, unpacking their impact on moral truths. Blackburn explores his coined term 'quasi-realism' and its implications, particularly in relation to moral perspectives shaped by emotions. The conversation also touches on the interplay between language and belief, highlighting how personal feelings influence our understanding of ethics and the expression of moral judgments.
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Cognitivism vs Non-Cognitivism
- Ethics is divided between realism, which holds ethical statements as true or false, and anti-realism, which sees ethics as expressions of opinion or emotion.
- Non-cognitivism denies ethics having truth value and views moral statements as expressions of attitudes, not factual claims.
Moore's Rot in Ethics
- G.E. Moore started 20th century ethics by claiming 'goodness' is a non-natural, non-empirical property, which misled many into metaphysical puzzles.
- Earlier figures like Hume and Adam Smith focused on how ethical qualities excite sentiments rather than metaphysical essences.
Ethics as Expression of Reaction
- Ethics should focus on what excites admiration or disapproval in us rather than metaphysical nature of moral properties.
- This approach avoids difficult metaphysical questions and concentrates on describing our reactions and expressions.
