The Naturalistic Fallacy

Presents a definitive guide to the text, history and philosophy behind the most influential argument in the history of ethics.

Neil Sinclair (Edited by)

9781316618011, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 6 December 2018

294 pages, 2 b/w illus.
24.6 x 17.3 x 1.7 cm, 0.53 kg

At the turn of the twentieth century, G. E. Moore contemptuously dismissed most previous 'ethical systems' for committing the 'Naturalistic Fallacy'. This fallacy - which has been variously understood, but has almost always been seen as something to avoid - was perhaps the greatest structuring force on subsequent ethical theorising. To a large extent, to understand the Fallacy is to understand contemporary ethics. This volume aims to provide that understanding. Its thematic chapters - written by a range of distinguished contributors - introduce the history, text and philosophy behind Moore's charge of fallacy and its supporting 'open question' argument. They detail how the fallacy influenced multiple traditions in ethics (including evolutionary, religious and naturalistic approaches), its connections to supposed dichotomies between 'is'/'ought' and facts/values, and its continuing relevance to our understanding of normativity. Together, the chapters provide a historical and opinionated introduction to contemporary ethics that will be essential for students, teachers and researchers.

Introduction Neil Sinclair
1. The naturalistic fallacy and the history of metaethics Neil Sinclair
2. The naturalistic fallacy: what it is, and what it isn't Fred Feldman
3. The context and origin of Moore's Formulation of the Naturalistic Fallacy in Principia Ethica Consuelo Preti
4. No-ought-from-is, the naturalistic fallacy and the fact/value distinction: the history of a mistake Charles Pigden
5. Evolution and the naturalistic fallacy Michael Ruse
6. Motivation, recommendation, non-cognitivism and the naturalistic fallacy Mark van Roojen
7. Open question arguments and the irreducibility of ethical normativity William J. FitzPatrick
8. Should analytical descriptivists worry about the naturalistic fallacy? Susana Nuccetelli
9. Normativity and the naturalistic fallacy Connie S. Rosati
10. The naturalistic fallacy and theological ethics Christian B. Miller
11. The phenomenology of moral deliberation and the non-naturalistic fallacy Terry Horgan and Mark Timmons
12. Epistemic relativism and the naturalistic fallacy J. Adam Carter.

Subject Areas: Ethics & moral philosophy [HPQ], Western philosophy, from c 1900 - [HPCF]