Ethical Intuitionism 2005th Edition

by M. Huemer (Author)

15 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0230573741

ISBN-10: 0230573746

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A defence of ethical intuitionism where (i) there are objective moral truths; (ii) we know these through an immediate, intellectual awareness, or 'intuition'; and (iii) knowing them gives us reasons to act independent of our desires. The author rebuts the major objections to this theory and shows the difficulties in alternative theories of ethics.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

'Read this. It is the best book ever written on meta-ethics. Even philosophers who know the field may feel as though they are confronting these issues for the first time. I used to think of ethical intuitionism as a silly, naIve, even ridiculous theory, but Michael Huemer has made an intuitionist out of me.' - Stuart Rachels, Department of Philosophy, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, USA

'Huemer's book may be the best, most comprehensive defense of ethical intuitionism since Moore's Principia Ethica...[it] is an outstanding defense of the view that there are objective moral truths knowable through intuition. Whether or not one agrees with Huemer's conclusions, one cannot ignore the power of his arguments.' - Richard Fumerton, Department of Philosophy, University of Iowa

'A terrific book. Now philosophers will have no excuse for treating ethical intuitionism as if it were a silly and easily-refuted view.' - James W. Nickel, Arizona State University College of Law, USA

About the Author

Michael Huemer is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA, where he has worked since 1998. He is the author of Skepticism and the Veil of Perception and Ethical Intuitionism , as well as more than 40 articles in ethics, epistemology, political philosophy, and metaphysics.

Paperback: 309 pages
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 2005 edition (December 14, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0230573746
ISBN-13: 978-0230573741
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 15 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #735,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #898 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Philosophy > Ethics
- #3218 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Ethics & Morality

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David D. Friedman

Very Good, but Not Quite Good Enough

February 13, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Like another reviewer, I started out agreeing with Huemer's basic claim, having concluded some forty-five years ago that the intuitionist position provided the most satisfactory explanation of normative beliefs. I read the book in part in the hope that he could provide better arguments than I had come up with, in particular a better rebuttal of what I view as the most serious challenge to our position. Unfortunately, he doesn't.

He does do a very good good job of demonstrating that ethical intuitionism is a defensible position and offering arguments to show that most of the alternatives, including ones that are much more widely accepted, are not. But he does not provide an adequate response to the one challenge I am concerned with, the view that combines ethical nihilism with evolutionary psychology.

The claim of that view is that there are no normative facts, that nothing is good or bad and there is no moral reason to do or not do anything. It explains our moral beliefs, the intuitions that Huemer views (and I view) as imperfect perceptions of normative facts, as explainable by evolution--they were beliefs that increased the reproductive success of those who held them in the environment in which we evolved, and so got hard wired into their descendants.

That approach challenges intuitionism in two ways. First, it explains the evidence, my ethical intuitions, on the basis of facts of reality I already believe to be true. Once we have one explanation there is no need for another. Second, it raises the question of how, if there are moral facts, we could have acquired the ability to know them, since at least some of them would presumably have led us to modify our behavior in ways that reduced our reproductive success--make us less willing, for instance, to slaughter the men of a neighboring tribe and take their women.

Despite these problems, I have not yet abandoned my current moral position, in part because the alternative position fails to answer the questions I want answered, indeed implies that they are unanswerable, that there are no actual oughts. In part also, I fail to adopt the nihilist position because I am unable to believe it. That inability is psychological, not logical. I cannot actually believe that there is nothing wrong with torturing small children for the fun of it or murdering large numbers of innocent people, both conclusions that follow from the view that nothing at all is wrong or right.

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MathaelTheDestroyer

A Plausible Defense of Intuitionism

May 24, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I loved this book. It was extremely accessible and easy to read. I have a BA in Philosophy, so I'm familiar enough with philosophical concepts but I am also sometimes discouraged by especially dry, dense philosophical works. This book was not like that - nearly anyone could read this and understand the arguments, but it also provided a serious, philosophically tenable defense of intuitionism. As an atheist and a materialist, I have had trouble in the past reconciling my general worldview with moral realism, which, historically, has appealed to God or some other supernatural foundation as a basis for realism. This book offers a defense of realism that anyone should be able to accept.

The only criticism I have is that I would have liked to hear more about what these intuitions *are*. Huemer provides a few examples (and I take his point that we all seem to have them, and know what they are), but it would have been nice to hear a little bit more about the epistemological question that will naturally arise ("Well, if we have these intuitions, what are they?"). Still, this is not really a problem for his view, nor did it take much away from it. Overall, this was a great read which I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to know more about realism and intuitionism.

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Nathan

A great introduction to metaethics and a great book on ethical intuitionism

May 12, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book was the first book on metaethics I ever read. When I read it three years ago, it completely changed how I understand morality. And three years later, this is still my go-to book when thinking about metaethics. Huemer argues for ethical intuitionism, the idea that ethical facts are just as real as facts about tables and zebras, but these ethical facts are not reducible to facts about the natural world. With impressive clarity and argumentative rigor, Huemer outlines the main positions in metaethical debates and shows why all but ethical intuitionism remain intact after scrutiny.

This is not just a book arguing for ethical intuitionism; it's also a great introduction to metaethics in general. Huemer is charitable in his interpretation of the alternative metaethical positions that he ultimately rejects. He presents the main reasons for them with greater clarity than even their proponents can muster.

My only complaint is that this book isn't longer. In particular, his writing on naturalism could have been improved by expanding on the open question argument and addressing criticisms that are available in the literature. Otherwise, this is an amazing book that anyone interested in metaethics would benefit from reading.

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