This introduction provides a highly readable critical overview of the main arguments and themes in twentieth-century and contemporary metaethics. It traces the development of contemporary debates in metaethics from their beginnings in the work of G. E. Moore up to the most recent arguments between naturalism and non-naturalism, cognitivism and non-cognitivism.

A highly readable critical overview of the main arguments and themes in twentieth century and contemporary metaethics.

Asks: Are there moral facts? Is there such a thing as moral truth? Is moral knowledge possible?

Traces the development of contemporary debates in metaethics from their beginnings in the work of G. E. Moore up to the most recent debates between naturalism and non-naturalism, cognitivism and noncognitivism.

Provides for the first time a critical survey of famous figures in twentieth century metaethics such as Moore, Ayer and Mackie together with in-depth discussions of contemporary philosophers such as Blackburn, Gibbard, Wright, Harman, Railton, Sturgeon, McDowell and Wiggins.

An Introduction to Contemporary Metaethics provides a highly readable critical overview of the main arguments and themes in twentieth-century and contemporary metaethics. The book traces the development of contemporary debates in metaethics, from their beginnings in the work of G. E. Moore to the most recent debates between naturalism and non-naturalism, cognitivism and noncognitivism. This volume provides a critical survey of famous figures in twentieth-century metaethics such as Moore, Ayer, and Mackie together with in-depth discussions of contemporary philosophers such as Blackburn, Gibbard, Wright, Harman, Railton, Sturgeon, McDowell, and Wiggins.

An Introduction to Contemporary Metaethics provides a highly readable critical overview of the main arguments and themes in twentieth-century and contemporary metaethics. It traces the development of contemporary debates in metaethics from their beginnings in the work of G. E. Moore up to the most recent arguments between naturalism and non-naturalism, cognitivism and non-cognitivism.Individual chapters deal with: the open-question arguments and Moore 's attack on ethical naturalism; A. J. Ayer 's emotivism and the rejection of non-naturalism; Simon Blackburn 's quasi-realism; Allan Gibbard 's norm-expressivism; J. L. Mackie 's 'error-theory' of moral judgement; anti-realist and best opinion accounts of moral truth; the non-reductionist naturalism of the 'Cornell realists' Peter Railton 's naturalistic reductionism; the analytic functionalism of Frank Jackson and Philip Pettit; the contemporary non-naturalism of John McDowell and David Wiggins; and the debate between internalists and externalists in moral psychology.The book will be an invaluable resource for students, teachers and professional philosophers with interests in contemporary metaethics.

This introduction provides a highly readable critical overview of the main arguments and themes in twentieth-century and contemporary metaethics. It traces the development of contemporary debates in metaethics from their beginnings in the work of G. E. Moore up to the most recent arguments between naturalism and non-naturalism, cognitivism and non-cognitivism.