DEFENDING ETHICAL NATURALISM: THE ROLES OF COGNITIVE SCIENCE AND PRAGMATISM.

In various essays, Paul Churchland explores the relevance of studies in cognitive science to issues in ethics. What emerges is a kind of ethical naturalism that has two components. The first component is a descriptive-genealogical one whose purpose is to explain how people come to have their ethical...

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Publicado en:Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science Vol. 40; no. 1; pp. 201 - 221
Autor principal: Ward, Andrew
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Open Library of Humanities Mar2005
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        au: Ward, Andrew
        affil: Community Faculty Member, Department of Practical Philosophy and Ethics, Metropolitan State University, 700 East 7th Street, Saint Paul, MN 55106-5000
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        Naturalism
        Materialism
        Ethics
        Positivism
        Cognitive science
        Pragmatism
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          Naturalism
          Materialism
          Ethics
          Positivism
          Cognitive science
          Pragmatism
      keyword:
        cognitive science
        ethics
        Jean-François Lyotard
        John Dewey
        Paul Churchland
        pragmatism
      ab: In various essays, Paul Churchland explores the relevance of studies in cognitive science to issues in ethics. What emerges is a kind of ethical naturalism that has two components. The first component is a descriptive-genealogical one whose purpose is to explain how people come to have their ethical beliefs. The second component is a normative one whose purpose is to explain why some values are better than other values. Given this distinction, the problem of integrating ethics with beliefs about the world is a consequence of the traditional view that it is possible to naturalize descriptive-genealogical ethics but not normative ethics. With this distinction as background, I critically examine Churchland's exploration of cognitive science's contribution to our understanding of the values and purposes that should direct our lives. The conclusion is twofold. First, using concepts from the American pragmatists, I argue that, pace Churchland, it is possible to bridge the descriptive-normative gap in order to articulate an ethical naturalism that addresses the so-called naturalistic fallacy but is not committed to an unpalatable relativism. Second, I argue that the sort of ethical naturalism that emerges has affinities to the postmodern ethics of Jean-François Lyotard.
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    language: English
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