J. L. Mackie: Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong

question 15

Short Answer

J. L. Mackie: Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong
Mackie's position, which he calls "moral skepticism" but has come to be more commonly known as "the error theory," involves two central claims. First, Mackie claims that ordinary moral discourse contains a "claim to objectivity." When someone makes a moral claim-e.g., that abortion is immoral-they do not mean to merely express their feelings or issue a command. Rather, they are seeking to describe an intrinsic feature of the action in question-in this case, that abortion is objectively the sort of thing that ought not to be done. Second, Mackie claims that objective moral values do not exist. It follows from these two theses that all moral claims are false.
Mackie gives two main arguments for his claim that objective values do not exist. The Argument from Relativity maintains that variation in moral judgments, both between individuals and between societies, is best explained by the hypothesis that moral judgments reflect ways of life rather than objective moral facts. If so, Mackie claims, there is good reason to believe that moral facts do not exist. The second argument, the Argument from Queerness, has two parts, one metaphysical and one epistemological. Metaphysically, if objective values did exist, they would be completely unlike anything else in the universe, in that they would give us reasons for action independently of what we happen to desire or aim at. Epistemologically, if such values existed, they would have to be known by some special faculty of intuition, completely different from our other ways of knowing about the world. Because it is implausible that such strange facts or faculties exist, Mackie claims, we should accept that no objective values exist. Mackie concludes with a brief discussion of how people could come to believe in objective values, despite their non-existence.
-Explain Mackie's distinction between "first order" and "second order" moral questions. What relationship does Mackie think obtains between first order and second order moral questions? Which category does his "moral skepticism" fall into?

---

Definitions:

Participative

Pertaining to a style of leadership or decision-making that involves input and involvement from team members or stakeholders.

Autonomous

The ability to operate independently or the quality of having autonomy; self-directing freedom and especially moral independence.

GLOBE Researchers

Scholars involved in the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness research project, aimed at understanding cultural impacts on leadership and organizational practices worldwide.

Cultural Clusters

Groupings of cultures that share similar characteristics, values, or norms, often used to understand and compare cross-cultural interactions.