Abstract

Professor Girvetz here presents an ethical position which he contends avoids the current, prevalent skepticism about moral knowledge without embracing moral dogmatism. Before this position is developed, the sources of moral skepticism and some major attempts to escape it are discussed. Cultural relativism, Freudian psychology, ideologism, the interest theory of value and emotivism, theories often held to substantiate skepticism, are deemed unsatisfactory or unsupportive of skeptical results. For example, emotivism rests on an inadequate analysis of moral language; and cultural relativism, even if true, does not establish the correctness of ethical relativism. Intuitionism, Hare’s prescriptivism and Dewey’s instrumentalism, major attempts to escape skepticism, are examined and judged unsatisfactory.