We seem to know that killing innocent people is wrong and that helping those in need is right. We also seem to know that pleasure is good and that pain is bad, and that some people are more virtuous (or vicious) than others. Should we take these appearances at face value or should we doubt that such knowledge is even possible? In other words, do (or can) we really know these things? This course will tackle the question of how to account for moral knowledge. It will do so by looking into (1) recent attempts to provide foundations for it and (2) discussions over moral knowledge’s connection to other important epistemological notions such as testimony and expertise. The course will end with (3) a discussion of recent attempts to ‘debunk’ moral beliefs.
NB: A background in epistemology and/or (meta)ethics is strongly recommended. |
