Smith on the practicality and objectivity of moral judgments

The moral problem presented by Michael Smith in his seminal book with the same name consists of three claims that are intuitively plausible when considered separately, but seem incompatible when combined: moral judgments express beliefs about objective moral facts, moral judgments are practical in b...

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Main Author: Strandberg Caj
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Belgrade - Faculty of Philosophy - Institute for Philosophy 2024-01-01
Series:Belgrade Philosophical Annual
Subjects:
Online Access:https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0353-3891/2024/0353-38912401059S.pdf
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author Strandberg Caj
author_facet Strandberg Caj
author_sort Strandberg Caj
collection DOAJ
description The moral problem presented by Michael Smith in his seminal book with the same name consists of three claims that are intuitively plausible when considered separately, but seem incompatible when combined: moral judgments express beliefs about objective moral facts, moral judgments are practical in being motivational, and beliefs are unable to motivate by themselves. An essential aspect of Smith's solution to the moral problem is the contention that moral judgments are both motivating for rational agents and objective. In this paper, I take a close look at Smith's arguments by considering his characterizations of rationality understood as coherence between attitudes. It is suggested that on this understanding of rationality and coherence, it has not been clearly shown that moral judgments are both practical and objective.
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spelling doaj-art-b24871bf6f5b422b9a639b33415ff5282025-02-05T12:20:31ZengUniversity of Belgrade - Faculty of Philosophy - Institute for PhilosophyBelgrade Philosophical Annual0353-38912956-03572024-01-01371598010.5937/BPA2437059S0353-38912401059SSmith on the practicality and objectivity of moral judgmentsStrandberg Caj0University of OsloThe moral problem presented by Michael Smith in his seminal book with the same name consists of three claims that are intuitively plausible when considered separately, but seem incompatible when combined: moral judgments express beliefs about objective moral facts, moral judgments are practical in being motivational, and beliefs are unable to motivate by themselves. An essential aspect of Smith's solution to the moral problem is the contention that moral judgments are both motivating for rational agents and objective. In this paper, I take a close look at Smith's arguments by considering his characterizations of rationality understood as coherence between attitudes. It is suggested that on this understanding of rationality and coherence, it has not been clearly shown that moral judgments are both practical and objective.https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0353-3891/2024/0353-38912401059S.pdfmichael smiththe moral problemmoral objectivitypractical rationalitymotivational internalismcoherence
spellingShingle Strandberg Caj
Smith on the practicality and objectivity of moral judgments
Belgrade Philosophical Annual
michael smith
the moral problem
moral objectivity
practical rationality
motivational internalism
coherence
title Smith on the practicality and objectivity of moral judgments
title_full Smith on the practicality and objectivity of moral judgments
title_fullStr Smith on the practicality and objectivity of moral judgments
title_full_unstemmed Smith on the practicality and objectivity of moral judgments
title_short Smith on the practicality and objectivity of moral judgments
title_sort smith on the practicality and objectivity of moral judgments
topic michael smith
the moral problem
moral objectivity
practical rationality
motivational internalism
coherence
url https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0353-3891/2024/0353-38912401059S.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT strandbergcaj smithonthepracticalityandobjectivityofmoraljudgments