Higher Seminar in Practical Philosophy: Sigrún Svavarsdóttir (Tufts)

Seminar

Date: Tuesday 2 May 2023

Time: 13.15 – 15.00

Location: D700

On Seeking Objective Grounds for Moral Evaluation

Abstract

The paper argues that to do justice to questions of objectivity that arise within and about moral discourse, we must take into account that this discourse is embedded within a somewhat conventionally regimented practice that comprises attempts to guide attitude and action by way of justifying, criticizing, validating, or excusing them. The appropriate condition of objectivity rules out a specific narrow kind of response-dependence that would run counter to this kind of guiding role for moral verdicts. The relevant condition is identified (the discourse- and practice-independence condition or, for short, the DP-independence condition).