Moral skepticism

As error theory refers to a philosophical theory characterizes the competing positions both as wrong as also explains the distribution and the stubborn adherence to these errors. Therefore, an error theory contains three elements: the arguments for your position, the refutation of other approaches, and the explanation of the errors. Therefore, an error theory does not only answer the validity question ( is the true the statement? ), But also the question of the genesis of the errors.

A simple example

As a simple example of this is the Santa Claus: All statements made about Santa Claus (eg, that it to good children brings Christmas gifts that he has a certain look, with his sleigh flying above the clouds, etc.) are enlightened contemporaries as myths: Obviously does not make any single statement we make about Santa Claus as an actually existing beings in this world, actually, that they are all classified as false.

But there are certain statements that is nevertheless still being held at these allegations, symbols and rituals: one is in a particular Christian tradition, you do not want to be distinguished from its surroundings, you want to prepare their own children a joy, etc.

Error theory in ethical discourse

The English philosopher John Leslie Mackie (1917-1981) in his book "Ethics Inventing Right and Wrong. " ( German: ethics The invention of what is right and wrong. ) Developed his error theory of morality: In his view, we make in everyday life in moral judgments statements about actions that commit this a certain moral value: eg " this action is good / bad." However, after Mackie we make a mistake if we assume that the moral qualities of this action to be good or bad, come the act per se as a quasi- representational features, so are objective. For Mackie there are no objective, independent of the circumstances, the societies and times of moral values ​​. Moral values ​​are instead the result of a biological and social development process, the main content is to limit the selfishness or the extension of sympathy to resolve the unavoidable social conflicts for him.

To rule out the hypothesis of the existence of objective values ​​he describes his position as moral subjectivism or ethical skepticism. He distances himself from both deontological ethics of Kant, by utilitarianism John Stewart Mills and also on the position of John Rawls ( justice as fairness ). Instead, he developed a practical system of morality, which examines actions with a three-stage universalization on their moral value. Mackie is therefore far from everything amorality or nihilism.

The attractiveness of the thesis of the existence of objective values ​​he explains, inter alia, with the projection of internalized childhood moral values ​​to the outside, with the " lending authority" in seemingly objective values ​​in discussions with the self-deception about the connection between desires and moral values ​​, etc.

Possible criticisms

In ethics, there is also the approach of value statements can not be interpreted as statements about objective properties of reality, but as an expression of our feelings ( emotivism as a variety of Nonkognitivismus; important representatives of the latter are here as Alfred Jules Ayer and Richard Mervyn Hare, an ancestor a emotivist theory is also David Hume ). Statements such as " This act is cruel! " only be interpreted as prescriptive " Omit this action! ", so nothing say about the act itself, but about our attitude toward it.

An opponent of the error theory might argue also that our moral attributions not invent property characteristics, but recognize independent of time and circumstances moral characteristics: There are for this view " valuable facts " such as ( per se ) "cruel " actions " brave " behavior, "generous " donations, etc. from this point of view, it seems strange that we actually should not call in the world with our value statements: How can one of the "beautiful " pictures, " good" people, etc. speak, if not of real situations in this world? Contemporary representative of such moral relativism negative and Moral Realism mentioned theory about Jonathan Dancy, John McDowell and David Wiggins; than older, even by Mackie himself for eminent representatives are, for example, Plato, Aristotle and Kant

An error theorist might here be objected, that are derived from speech analysis no existential statements that people would have to have a special faculty of knowledge in addition to their normal paths of knowledge or that anthropology and ethnology have shown that the ratings of the same actions over time and from culture to culture differ. The discussion is so far from being decided.

417563
de