prescriptivism

prescriptivism
The approach to moral theory especially associated with Hare, that assimilates moral commitment to the giving or accepting of a command. Difference of moral opinion is then modelled upon the giving of conflicting commands, and inconsistency in moral thought is assimilated to the giving of commands not all of which can possibly be obeyed. In Hare's development, ethical judgements differ from simple prescriptions by the commitment to universality that they embody: thus whilst I may command you to smoke and someone else not to smoke, if I go into the ethical mode and say that you ought not to smoke, I am committed to supposing that anybody else in a relevantly similar position ought not to smoke. Hare's later development of this idea moves him towards utilitarianism as the critical level of moral thinking, disguised in everyday life by the more ordinary and less systematic commitments we tend to make. Critics have concentrated upon various differences between ethical commitment and command, including the problem that, whilst accepting a command seems tantamount to setting oneself to obey it, accepting an ethical verdict is, unfortunately, consistent with refusing to be bound by it. The belief that utilitarianism is somehow implicit in the logic of moral concepts has also been vigorously contested. See also agent-centred morality, akrasia, integrity, virtue ethics.

Philosophy dictionary. . 2011.

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  • Prescriptivism — may refer to:* Linguistic prescription, the prescribing of rules for language * Universal prescriptivism, a meta ethical theory of the meaning of moral statements …   Wikipedia

  • prescriptivism — pre*scrip tiv*ism, n. The doctrine that acceptable grammatical rules should be prescribed by authority, rather than be determined by common usage. [PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • prescriptivism — pre·scrip·tiv·ism (prĭ skrĭpʹtə vĭz əm) n. The support or promotion of prescriptive grammar.   pre·scripʹtiv·ist adj. & n. * * * In metaethics, the view that moral judgments are prescriptions and therefore have the logical form of imperatives.… …   Universalium

  • Prescriptivism — meta ethical theory about the semantical content of moral statements, introduced by the philosopher R. M. Hare in his book The Language of Morals. It holds that moral statements functions similarly to imperatives. For example, according to… …   Mini philosophy glossary

  • prescriptivism — prescriptive ► ADJECTIVE 1) relating to the imposition of a rule or method. 2) (of a right, title, etc.) legally established by long usage. DERIVATIVES prescriptivism noun prescriptivist noun & adjective. ORIGIN Latin praescriptivus relating to a …   English terms dictionary

  • Prescriptivism (philosophy) — meta ethical theory about the semantical content of moral statements, introduced by the philosopher R. M. Hare in his book The Language of Morals. It holds that moral statements functions similarly to imperatives. For example, according to… …   Mini philosophy glossary

  • prescriptivism — noun /pɹəˈskɹɪp.tɪv.ɪzm̩,pɹəˈskɹɪp.tɪ.vɪzm̩/ prescribing idealistic norms, as opposed to describing realistic forms, of linguistic usage. Ant: descriptivism See Also: prescribe, prescriptive, prescriptivist …   Wiktionary

  • prescriptivism — belief that moral edicts are merely orders with no truth value Philosophical Isms …   Phrontistery dictionary

  • prescriptivism — /prəˈskrɪptɪvɪzəm/ (say pruh skriptivizuhm) noun 1. Linguistics the theoretical stance in favour of prescriptive grammar. 2. Ethics the philosophical idea that moral judgements have no inherent truth but are expressions of the beliefs of the… …  

  • prescriptivism — noun 1. (ethics) a doctrine holding that moral statements prescribe appropriate attitudes and behavior • Topics: ↑ethics, ↑moral philosophy • Hypernyms: ↑doctrine, ↑philosophy, ↑philosophical system, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

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