Henry Sidgwick’s Moral Epistemology
Journal of the History of Philosophy 48 (4):491-519 (2010)
Abstract
In this essay I defend the view that Henry Sidgwick’s moral epistemology is a form of intuitionist foundationalism that grants common-sense morality no evidentiary role. In §1, I outline both the problematic of The Methods of Ethics and the main elements of its argument for utilitarianism. In §§2-4 I provide my interpretation of Sidgwick’s moral epistemology. In §§ 5-8 I refute rival interpretations, including the Rawlsian view that Sidgwick endorses some version of reflective equilibrium and the view that he is committed to some kind of pluralistic epistemology. In§ 9 I contend with some remaining objections to my view.Author's Profile
DOI
10.1353/hph.2010.0002
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Citations of this work
British Ethical Theorists from Sidgwick to Ewing.Thomas Hurka - 2014 - Oxford: Oxford University Press.
The Objectivity of Ethics and the Unity of Practical Reason.Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek & Peter Singer - 2012 - Ethics 123 (1):9-31.
The Oxford Handbook of British Philosophy in the Nineteenth Century.W. J. Mander (ed.) - 2014 - New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
The cosmos of duty - Henry sidgwick’s methods of ethics.Roger Crisp - 2015 - Oxford: Oxford University Press UK.
References found in this work
The Independence of Moral Theory.John Rawls - 1974 - Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association 48:5 - 22.