Author Description
Theorists working on metaethics and the nature of normativity typically study goodness, rightness, what ought to be done, and so on. In their investigations they employ and consider our actual normative concepts. But the actual concepts of goodness, rightness, and what ought to be done are only some of the possible normative concepts there are. There are other possible concepts, ascribing different properties. Matti Eklund explores the consequences of this thought, for example for the debate over normative realism, and for the debate over what it is for concepts and properties to be normative. Conceptual engineering - the project of considering how our concepts can be replaced by better ones - has become a central topic in philosophy. Eklund applies this methodology to central normative concepts and discusses the special complications that arise in this case. For example, since talk of improvement is itself normative, how should we, in the context, understand talk of a concept being better?
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This book investigates the philosophical implications of the fact that our current normative concepts are merely a subset of all possible normative concepts. Matti Eklund, a professor of theoretical philosophy, utilizes the framework of conceptual engineering to examine how we might evaluate and potentially replace our existing concepts of goodness and rightness. He argues that because the criteria for 'improvement' are themselves normative, the project of conceptual engineering faces unique challenges when applied to the very concepts that define normativity.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- An analysis of normative realism and the nature of normative properties.
- A methodological application of conceptual engineering to ethical and normative discourse.
- An exploration of the circularity involved in using normative standards to evaluate normative concepts.
Scope Limits
- The text does not provide a comprehensive history of all metaethical theories.
- It does not offer a practical guide for daily moral decision-making, focusing instead on abstract conceptual analysis.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Experts in metaethics recognize this work as a significant contribution to the growing field of conceptual engineering. Readers frequently note the high level of technical rigor and the density of the prose, which is intended for an audience familiar with contemporary analytic philosophy.
Page Count:
224
Publication Date:
2017-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press,
ISBN-10:
0191027650
ISBN-13:
9780191027659
Philosophy
Normative Ethics
Metaethics
Normativity ethics
Concepts
Conceptual Engineering