Introduction

Abstract

Abstract This book presents a picture of morality, its nature, its justification, and its role in society. The picture is meant to explain the conditions under which our moral claims are true. It is also meant to explain the sense in which moral claims are normative—the sense in which they guide our choices. There are two main ideas. First, a moral claim is true only if a related moral standard or norm is justified. Second, society needs to have a social moral code as part of its culture in order to enable us to get along together in our social life. It is because of this need that certain moral standards are justified and hence that certain moral claims are true. There are, then, two main components to the picture. There is a cognitivist theory of normative language, the “standard-based theory,” which provides a general account of the truth conditions of normative propositions. And there is a theory of the justification of moral codes and standards, the “society-centered theory.” There are other components as well. This introductory discussion is a preliminary sketch, meant to orient the reader and to explain how the components fit together.