This is an enormously rich book, and Ridge is enviably resourceful in adopting and adapting various available philosophical components to address the set of problems that he is dealing with.

Kevin Toh, Ethics

Ridge's discussion is remarkable for the broad range of topics addressed and the creative and sophisticated positions outlined ... I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in the prospects of expressivism, whether for or against

Andrew Alwood, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

...a first-rate book, full of interesting arguments and claims...I would highly recommened Impassionaed Belief to metaethicists. Ridge makes a compelling case for taking hybrid theories seriously, and his preferred theory is an important contributon to this growing area of debate.

Stephen Ingram, Ethical Perspectives

We all form judgments about what ways of life are worthwhile, what we are morally required to do and so on. These so-called "normative" judgments have seemed puzzling in part because they exhibit both belief-like and desire-like features. Traditional cognitivist theories hold that these judgments are beliefs rather than desires; traditional non-cognitivist theories hold that they are desires rather than beliefs. Each of these traditions tries to accommodate or explain away what the other tradition handles so easily. One often gets the sense that the defenders of these increasingly complex theories are trying to force a square peg into a round hole. So-called "hybrid theories" try to have the best of both worlds by understanding normative judgments as constituted by both belief-like and desire-like states. In Impassioned Belief, Michael Ridge defends a distinctive hybrid theory he calls "Ecumenical Expressivism." Ridge provides a useful critical taxonomy of the by now bewildering array of rival hybrid theories in the literature and argues for the superiority of his more expressivist hybrid theory. By emphasizing the often neglected distinction between meta-semantics and semantics, Ecumenical Expressivism accommodates both the context-sensitivity of normative predicates and a broadly truth-conditional approach to semantics. The resulting theory is better informed by the insights of modern linguistics. The hybrid structure of Ecumenical Expressivism offers a more elegant and satisfying solution to the dreaded "Frege-Geach" problem for expressivism. Ridge builds on this solution with a theory of propositions which accommodates irreducible normative propositions in an expressivist framework. This, in turn, sets the stage for a theory of truth which does not depend on controversial "deflationist" assumptions, but can be combined with any otherwise plausible conception of truth. Finally, Ridge develops and defends a novel theory of disagreement and a more cognitivist hybrid theory of talk of rationality. Ecumenical Expressivism thereby offers a systematic conception of normative thought and discourse which aspires to transcend the false dichotomies and deep problems associated with more traditional approaches.
Les mer
Michael Ridge presents an original expressivist theory of normative judgments--Ecumenical Expressivism--which offers distinctive treatments of key problems in metaethics, semantics, and practical reasoning. He argues that normative judgments are hybrid states partly constituted by ordinary beliefs and partly constituted by desire-like states.
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Introduction ; 1. Locating Normative Thought and Discourse ; 2. Normative Thought and Discourse: Affective, Action-Guiding and Acrimonious ; 3. Ecumenical Cognitivism ; 4. Introducing Ecumenical Expressivism ; 5. Compositionality, Inference and the Frege-Geach Problem ; 6. Disagreement ; 7. Truth ; 8. Rationality ; Bibliography ; Index
Les mer
An original theory of normativity New approaches to a wide range of problems to do with meaning, truth, and reason in ethical discourse The culmination of many years' work by a leading expert in the field
Les mer
Michael Ridge is Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. His previous work has touched on numerous topics in meta-ethics, but especially on the role of principles in moral thought and judgment. He has also published work in top journals in the history of philosophy, normative ethics, virtue theory, the philosophy of mind and political philosophy. He has been working on the theory defended in this book for over a decade.
Les mer
An original theory of normativity New approaches to a wide range of problems to do with meaning, truth, and reason in ethical discourse The culmination of many years' work by a leading expert in the field
Les mer

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780199682669
Publisert
2014
Utgiver
Vendor
Oxford University Press
Vekt
580 gr
Høyde
237 mm
Bredde
163 mm
Dybde
24 mm
Aldersnivå
U, P, 05, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
278

Forfatter

Biographical note

Michael Ridge is Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. His previous work has touched on numerous topics in meta-ethics, but especially on the role of principles in moral thought and judgment. He has also published work in top journals in the history of philosophy, normative ethics, virtue theory, the philosophy of mind and political philosophy. He has been working on the theory defended in this book for over a decade.