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66A Tension in the Moral Error TheoryIn Richard Joyce & Simon Kirchin (eds.), A World Without Values: Essays on John Mackie's Moral Error Theory, . 2010.I highlight a tension within the moral error theoretic stance. Although I do not show that it is fatal, I believe the tension is problematic. In stating the tension I outline a conception of the common moral background against which it arises. I also discuss aspects of the similar error theories developed by John Mackie and Richard Joyce in order to show the tension at work
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48What is Intuitionism and Why be an Intuitionist?Social Theory and Practice 31 (4): 581-606. 2005.This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of ethical intuitionism and is an extended critical discussion of an edited collection Rethinking Intutionism (ed.) Stratton-Lake (OUP) that has been much discussed. (My piece is one of the first discussions of it.) Along other matters, I argue for the original and fairly controversial claim that in order for intuitionism to hold water, we must allow that what is involved in full moral understanding can differ from person to person, rather tha…Read more
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29Reviews contextuality in practical reason . By A.W. Price. Oxford: Clarendon press, 2008 pp. 208, £37.50 (hbk)Philosophy 84 (2): 295-299. 2009.
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135II—Simon Kirchin: Evaluation, Normativity and GroundingAristotelian Society Supplementary Volume 87 (1): 179-198. 2013.I consider the ‘normative relevance’ argument and the idea of grounding. I diagnose why there appears to be a tension between the conclusion that we are tempted to reach and the intuition that the normative is grounded in or by the non‐normative. Much of what I say turns on the idea of the normative itself. In short, I think that concentrating on this idea can help us see how the tension arises. My aim is to encourage people to reconceptualize the debate so as to begin to offer additional insigh…Read more
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140A World without ValuesSpringer. 2009.Taking as its point of departure the work of moral philosopher John Mackie (1917-1981), A World Without Values is a collection of essays on moral skepticism by leading contemporary philosophers, some of whom are sympathetic to Mackie s ...
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42Particularism, generalism and the counting argumentEuropean Journal of Philosophy 11 (1). 2003.In this paper I argue for a particularist understanding of thick evaluative features, something that is rarely done and is fairly controversial. That is, I argue that sometimes that the fact that an act is just, say, could, in certain situations, provide one with a reason against performing the action. Similarly, selfishness could be right-making. To show this, I take on anti-particularist ideas from two much-cited pieces (by Crisp, and by McNaughton and Rawling), in the influential Moral Partic…Read more
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77Ethical phenomenology and metaethicsEthical Theory and Moral Practice 6 (3): 241-264. 2003.In recent times, comments have been made and arguments advanced in support of metaethical positions based on the phenomenology of ethical experience – in other words, the feel that accompanies our ethical experiences. In this paper I cast doubt on whether ethical phenomenology supports metaethical positions to any great extent and try to tease out what is involved in giving a phenomenological argument. I consider three such positions: independent moral realism (IMR), another type of moral realis…Read more
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37Review of Alice Crary, Beyond Moral Judgment (review)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2008 (1). 2008.
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25MetaethicsPalgrave-Macmillan. 2012.This book, designed for high-level undergraduates, postgraduates and fellow researchers, introduces the reader to the main areas of metaethical work today. As we as introducing familiar positions and arguments, Kirchin argues clearly and engagingly for a set of distinctive and arresting views
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Are discrepancies between research ethics committees always morally problematicBioethics 18 (4): 408-427. 2004.
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54Thick Concepts and Thick DescriptionsIn Thick Concepts, Oxford University Press. pp. 60. 2013.In this article I compare Ryle's notion of a thick description with Williams' notion of a thick concept so as to illuminate our understanding of both. In doing so I suggest lines of thought that show us that the notion of 'evaluation' in play in many people's writings should be broadened. Doing so will help to lessen the credibility of separationist notions of thick concepts
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269Particularism, Generalism and the Counting ArgumentEuropean Journal of Philosophy 11 (1): 54-71. 2003.In a recent collection of papers - Moral Particularism - some writers argue against a particularist explanation of thick ethical features, particularist in the sense developed by Jonathan Dancy. In this piece I argue that particularists can tackle what I regard as the most interesting argument put forward by these writers, an argument I call the Counting argument. My aim is twofold. First, I wish to make clear exactly what the debate between particularists and their opponents about the thick …Read more
Areas of Specialization
Meta-Ethics |
Normative Ethics |