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The Tempering Of A Defense: Further Critiques Against Error Theory In Light Of Russ Shafer-Landau’S Ethical Nonnaturalism, Christopher Fidalgo

DISCOVERY: Georgia State Honors College Undergraduate Research Journal

J.L. Mackie’s paper “The Subjectivity of values” makes a convincing case for why objective values do not exist. In response, Russ Shafer-Landau’s “A Defense for Ethical Nonnaturalism” provides a counterpoint to Mackie’s claims. However, there is more an error theorist can say. In my paper, I argue that, while there is more an error theorist can say, those responses are not sufficient to trump Shafer-Landau’s claims to an objective, nonnatural ethical system. As he puts it and I affirm, ethics is not solely bound to natural terms, like science, but is nevertheless objective, mainly because of the reasons that support …