Tiefensee
Moral Realism
ISBN 978-3-8288-9534-8
Are there moral facts? Is there a moral reality independent from us? Naturalist moral realists think exactly that, construing ethics as a fact-stating discipline and drawing a strict parallel between ethics and science. In short, they argue that moral statements are on a par with empirical claims and made true by moral reality – where moral facts are nothing over and above natural facts. If this realist venture proved successful, normative research – both within philosophy and political science – would be placed on a solid, scientifically respectable footing. With good conscience, we could continue to enquire into those questions which are arguably the most interesting – such as queries about just wars, the supremacy of democratic over dictatorial systems or the justification of laws permitting or prohibiting stem-cell research and the shooting down of planes in terrorist attacks. But, are ethics and science really on a par? Christine Tiefensee sets off to put moral realism under close scrutiny, analysing its tenability according to its ontological, epistemological, semantic and psychological theses. Will moral realists prove to be right?
englischAre there moral facts? Is there a moral reality independent from us? Naturalist moral realists think exactly that, construing ethics as a fact-stating discipline and drawing a strict parallel between ethics and science. In short, they argue that moral statements are on a par with empirical claims and made true by moral reality – where moral facts are nothing over and above natural facts. If this realist venture proved successful, normative research – both within philosophy and political science – would be placed on a solid, scientifically respectable footing. With good conscience, we could continue to enquire into those questions which are arguably the most interesting – such as queries about just wars, the supremacy of democratic over dictatorial systems or the justification of laws permitting or prohibiting stem-cell research and the shooting down of planes in terrorist attacks. But, are ethics and science really on a par? Christine Tiefensee sets off to put moral realism under close scrutiny, analysing its tenability according to its ontological, epistemological, semantic and psychological theses. Will moral realists prove to be right?
