Morality, Normativity, and Society
David Copp - Oxford University Press, 1995
Under what conditions can moral claims be
said to be true? Copp's book explores this question, starting from a new
cognitivist theory of normative judgement - the "standard-based theory" - which
offers a schematic account of the truth conditions of normative propositions of
all kinds, including moral propositions and propositions about reasons.
According to the theory, a moral proposition is true only if a corresponding
moral standard is relevantly justified. At the heart of the book is a theory of
the circumstances under which moral standards qualify as justified, the
"society-centered theory". Copp argues that because any society needs a social
moral code in order to enable its members to live together successfully, and
because it would be rational for a society to choose such a code, certain moral
codes, and the standards they include, are justified. The standard-based theory
says, then, that corresponding moral propositions may therefore be true.
Offering new perspectives on reason and rational choice, Copp's approach to
morality and normativity raises a number of important issues in moral theory, as
well as in metaphysics and the philosophy of language
