PhilosophersCharles L. Stevenson

Charles L. Stevenson

Moral judgements express an attitude and seek to make others share it.

Analytic philosophy1908 · 1979 United StatesCincinnati

Life

Charles L. Stevenson (1908-1979), an American philosopher, taught mainly at the University of Michigan. He is, with A. J. Ayer, one of the leading figures of emotivism: a moral judgement expresses the speaker's attitude and seeks to influence others', rather than describing a fact. He distinguishes the descriptive and emotive meanings of moral words.

Main works

1937
The Emotive Meaning of Ethical Terms

Founding article of emotivism.

1944
Ethics and Language

Develops the analysis of moral disagreements as disagreements in attitude.

1963
Facts and Values

Essays on the meaning and justification of value judgements.

Positions

click a row to see the evidence
What makes an action good?Basis of morality
Duty (deontology)Consequences (consequentialism)Character (virtue ethics)Other (divine law, relationships, value creation…)

Moral judgement rests on attitudes and their reasons, not on duty, consequences or virtue as such: disagreement in attitude is settled by persuasion.

Stevenson, 'The Emotive Meaning of Ethical Terms' (1937)

Do good and evil exist objectively?Status of morality
Anti-realism (morality is human-made)Moral realism (objective moral truths)
Stated

Emotivism: ethical words express attitudes and aim to influence others' attitudes; they do not state objective facts.

Stevenson, Ethics and Language (1944)

Also appears in

"Stealing is wrong" describes nothing: it is a cry of indignationAlfred Jules Ayer · 1936 · debate over 3 levels
What makes something right?Morality questioned 3