Rachel PetrikRachel Petrik

Based on writing by A.J. AyerBased on writing by A.J. Ayer

20th century English philosopher

Wrote Language, Truth, and Logic in 1936

Established himself as leading English rep of Logical Positivism

A.J. Ayer

Also called logical empiricism Empiricism= concepts originate in

experience and propositions are justifiable only through experience

View that scientific knowledge is the only kind of factual knowledge

Metaphysical statements are not factual

Logical Positivism

Teaches that moral statements:

Are meaningless Only express the speaker’s feelings about

the issue

Later emotivists added the idea that moral statements are used to influence another person’s thoughts and conduct by informing them of the speaker’s feelings

Emotivism

Does not literally spell out the speaker’s

feelings Expresses feelings, approval, or disapproval

with emotive force Similar to connotation The overtones of feeling that a word arouses Separate from its literal meaning Is the difference between conveying

information and appealing to feelings

Moral Statements

All meaningful statements are analytic (true

by definition) or synthetic (deriving meaning from being empirically verifiable) Called the Verification Principle

Ethical terms cannot be translated into statements of empirical fact

The inability to translate into empirical fact makes them unverifiable

Ethical statements are synthetic, not analytic

Therefore, moral facts do not exist

Ayer’s Ideas and Principles

Cannot adopt a subjectivist or utilitarian analysis of ethical terms Utilitarian: rightness and goodness in terms of

pleasure or happiness that result Subjectivist: approval of the action from a

certain person or group Belongs to psychology or sociology, not

philosophy These two views cannot be absolute To accept absolute view, recognize ethical

concepts are irreducible to empirical concepts Therefore ethics do not derive from

observation Instead from intellectual intuition No criterion to decide between conflicting

intuitions

Ethical concepts are pseudo-concepts Ethical or moral statement does

not add factual content to a proposition

Simply evincing moral approval or disapproval

A proposition only containing ethical symbols has no factual meaning

The verification principle appears to be

synthetic, but not empirically verifiable There are moral disagreements

Yet if there is no reason or fact behind moral statements, why do we argue?

Seems possible to judge something to be morally wrong without having any emotional reaction to it

Evaluating Emotivism

Emotivism is not a widely accepted theory today

Most philosophers think moral statements are more than just expressions of feeling

Summary