RE: Moral Oughts
August 7, 2019 at 11:38 am
(This post was last modified: August 7, 2019 at 11:45 am by The Grand Nudger.)
It follows from neither. You need some premise along the lines of how it’s best or preferable to do what you desire, and the premise “there is a warm pizza on the table” has no inferential value for the conclusion.
Just as “ought not do things that are harmful” won’t get you a “ you shouldn’t do x” unless it’s paired with some premise about how x -is- harmful.
I ought not do harmful things
Therefore I ought not hit you in the mouth.
What’s missing? Or, more accurately, what’s being silently assumed so that -something- makes the conclusion follow from the premise?
Just as “ought not do things that are harmful” won’t get you a “ you shouldn’t do x” unless it’s paired with some premise about how x -is- harmful.
I ought not do harmful things
Therefore I ought not hit you in the mouth.
What’s missing? Or, more accurately, what’s being silently assumed so that -something- makes the conclusion follow from the premise?
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