Course Content

  • 1

    Introduction: What is MetaEthics?

    • Lecture｜Ethics as a Sub-Discipline of Philosophy

    • Lecture｜Three Branches of Ethics

    • Lecture｜Ethical and Metaethical Questions

    • Quiz｜Ethics and Metaethics

    • Lecture｜Metaethics as Inter-sub-disciplinary Study of Ethics

    • Read｜Chrisman 0.0 Introduction Chapter Start

    • Read｜Chrisman 0.1 Background

    • Read｜Chrisman 0.2 Four Key Issues

    • Read｜Chrisman 0.3 Four main theories

    • Read｜Chrisman 0.4 Conclusion & Chapter Summary

    • Read｜Chrisman 1.0 Chapter Start

    • Read｜Chrisman 1.1 Questions about ethics and metaphysics

    • Read｜Chrisman 1.2 Questions about ethics and epistemology

    • Read｜Chrisman 1.3 Questions about ethics and philosophy of language

    • Read｜Chrisman 1.4 Questions about ethics and philosophy of mind

    • Read｜Chrisman 1.5 Conclusion & Chapter Summary

    • Recording | 20210906 What is MetaEthics? 1

    • Recording | 20210908 What is MetaEthics? 2

    • Recording | 20210906 Course Outline and Requirements 1

    • Recording | 20210906 Course Outline and Requirements 2

    • Recording | 20210908 Course Outline and Requirements 3
  • 2

    Core Topic 1: Non-Naturalism

    • Lecture｜The Four Main Positions

    • Quiz｜The Four Main Positions

    • Lecture｜Moral Realism

    • Quiz｜Moral Realism

    • Lecture｜Realism: a) Representationalism

    • Lecture｜Realism: b) Cognitivism

    • Lecture｜Realism: b) Cognitivism (Directions of Fit)

    • Lecture｜Realism: b) Cognitivism (Belief versus Desire)

    • Lecture｜Realism: c) Success

    • Lecture｜Realism: d) Objectivism

    • Read｜Chrisman 2.0 Chapter Start

    • Read｜Chrisman 2.1 A more precise characterization

    • Read｜Chrisman 2.2.0-2 The case for nonnaturalism (Hume's Law & Moorean arguments)

    • Read｜Chrisman 2.2.3 A further argument: deliberative indispensability

    • Read｜Chrisman 2.3.0-2 Arguments against nonnaturalism (Challenges from a naturalistic worldview & Objection from epistemology)

    • Read｜Chrisman 2.3.3-4 Argument from supervenience & Challenge from the practicality of morality

    • Read｜Chrisman 2.4 Conclusion & Chapter Summary

    • Recording | 20210913 What is Moral Realism?

    • Recording | 20210915 Motivation for Realism

    • Recording | 20210922 What is Non-Naturalism

    • Recording | 20210922 Moore's Open Question Argument for Non-Naturalism

    • Recording | 20210927 Objections to the Open Question Argument

    • Recording | 20210927 Challenges to Non-Naturalism

    • Recording | 20210929 Argument from Deliberative Indispensability

    • Recording | 20210929 Argument from Multiple Realizability

    • Recording | 20210929 Non-Naturalism Overview

    • Recording | 20210929 The Three Other Positions as Rejection of Non-Naturalism
  • 3

    Core Topic 2: Expressivism

    • Recording | 20211011 Locating Expressivism

    • Recording | 20211011 What Expressivism Is (Not)

    • Read｜Chrisman 3.0 Chapter Start

    • Read｜Chrisman 3.1.0-1 Arguments in favor of expressivism (Hume's Law and open question intuitions + naturalistic worldview)

    • Recording | 20211011 Humean Theory of Motivation and Motivational Internalism

    • Read｜Chrisman 3.1.2 Argument from motivational internalism + Humean theory of motivation

    • Read｜Chrisman 3.1.3 Argument from supervenience

    • Recording | 20211011 Emotivism

    • Read｜Chrisman 3.2.0-1 Versions and objections (Emotivism)

    • Read｜Chrisman 3.2.2 Disagreement and prescriptivism

    • Read｜Chrisman 3.2.3 Blackburn and Gibbard on taking ethics seriously

    • Read｜Chrisman 3.2.4 Truth-aptness and quasi-realism

    • Recording | 20211011 Frege-Geach Problem

    • Read｜Chrisman 3.2.5 Frege-Geach

    • Read｜Chrisman 3.2.6 Motivational internalism

    • Read｜Chrisman 3.3 Conclusion & Chapter Summary
  • 4

    Core Topic 3: Error Theory

    • Read｜Chrisman 4.0 Chapter Start

    • Recording | 20211020 What is Error Theory?

    • Recording | 20211020 Why Error Theory? (Against Expressivism and Naturalism)

    • Recording | 20211020 Russell versus Strawson (False versus Untrue)

    • Read｜Chrisman 4.1 Mackie's arguments for error theory

    • Recording | 20211025 Mackie's Argument From Relativity

    • Recording | 20211025 Mackie's Metaphysical Argument From Queerness

    • Recording | 20211025 Mackie's Epistemological Argument From Queerness

    • Read｜Chrisman 4.2 Objections and replies

    • Recording | 20211020 Negation of Moral Judgement is not Another Moral Judgement

    • Recording | 20211025 Principle of Charity

    • Recording | 20211025 Principle of Charity (continued)

    • Recording | 20211025 Three Patterns of Objectification

    • Recording | 20211025 Explanatory Redundancy

    • Recording | 20211025 Moorean Argument Against Error Theory

    • Recording | 20211027 Is Error Theory Self-Defeating?
  • 5

    Core Topic 4: Naturalism

    • Read｜Chrisman 5.0 Chapter Start

    • Recording | 20211027 What is Naturalism?

    • Recording | 20211027 Explanatory Power as a Criterion for Being Natural/Real

    • Recording | 20211101 Holism and Explanatory Power

    • Read｜Chrisman 5.1 Neo-Aristotelian naturalism

    • Recording | 20211101 Neo-Aristotelean Naturalism

    • Read｜Chrisman 5.3 A posteriori naturalism

    • Recording | 20211101 A Priori & A Posteriori

    • Recording | 20211101 Descriptive Theory of Reference

    • Recording | 20211101 Causal Theory of Reference

    • Recording | 20211101 Causal Theory of Reference and Naturalism

    • Recording | 20211101 Causal Theory of Reference and Twin Earth

    • Recording | 20211101 Moral Twin Earth

    • Recording | 20211103 A Posteriori Reductionism

    • Read｜Chrisman 5.4 A priori network naturalism

    • Recording | 20211103 A Priori Reductionism

    • Recording | 20211103 Non-Reductionism

    • Read｜Chrisman 5.5 Conclusion & Chapter Summary

    • Recording | 20211103 Is Anything Left Out by Naturalism?
  • 6

    Review

    • Read｜Chrisman 6.0 Chapter Start

    • Read｜Chrisman 6.1.0-2 The four main areas (Metaphysics & Epistemology)

    • Read｜Chrisman 6.1.3-4 Philosophy of language & Philosophy of mind

    • Read｜Chrisman 6.2 Costs and benefits

    • Read｜Chrisman 6.3 Conclusion & Chapter Summary

    • Recording | 20211107 Review: The Four Main Positions

    • Recording | 20210712 Common Mistakes in Mid-Term Exam
  • 7

    Extended Topic 1: Fictionalism

    • Recording | 20211110 Locating Fictionalism in Relation to the Four Main Positions

    • Recording | 20211110 Fictionalizing as a Kind of Acceptance

    • Read｜Chrisman 4.3 Versions of fictionalism

    • Recording | 20211110 Hermeneutic versus Revolutionary Fictionalism

    • Recording | 20211110 From Error Theory to Revolutionary Fictionalism

    • Recording | 20211110 The Relation Between Error Theory and Fictionalism

    • Recording | 20211115 Fictionalism = Representationalism + Non-Cognitivism

    • Recording | 20211115 Hermeneutic Fictionalism

    • Recording | 20211115 Meaning Fictionalism

    • Recording | 20211115 Does Meaning Fictionalism Face the Frege-Geach Problem?

    • Recording | 20211115 Speech-Act Fictionalism

    • Recording | 20211115 Fictionalism and Charity

    • Recording | 20211115 The No-Phenomenology Problem

    • Recording | 20211115 Self-Fulfilling Theory?

    • Recording | 20211115 Revolutionary Fictionalism

    • Recording | 20211115 Revolutionary Fictionalism and the Benefits of Moralising

    • Recording | 20211115 How Do We Know Whether the Revolution has Taken Place?

    • Recording | 20211117 Remaining Questions about Fictionalism

    • Recording | 20211124 Rechard Joyce as a Fictionalist

    • Read｜Chrisman 4.4 Conclusion & Chapter Summary
  • 8

    Extended Topic 2: Relativism

    • Read｜Chrisman 5.2 Relativism as a form of naturalism

    • Recording | 20211122 Relativism
  • 9

    Extended Topic 3: Experimental Philosophy and Ethics

    • Music｜xPhi Anthem
  • 10

    Extended Topic 4: Evolutionary Debunking of Ethics

    • Read｜Vavova (2015), Evolutionary Debunking of Moral Realism