What Is This Thing Called Metaethics

Is morality a matter of objective fact or a subjective creation of the human mind? Do ethical statements express beliefs about how things stand in reality or emotive reactions to a value-free world? Assuming there are ethical facts, are they discoverable by empirical methods broadly contiguous with the methods of science, or does moral knowledge require a special form of intuition or wisdom? Does someone who is not at least somewhat motivated to do what they think is morally right not count as really understanding the phrase “morally right”? These sorts of questions have been a part of the study of ethics since the beginning of philosophy, and they are as interesting and pressing today as they have ever been. They are the sorts of questions that lead one to do metaethics. This book is about metaethics.