Non-descriptivism

The non-descriptivism is a specification form of the ethical relativism (see also: relativism ) corresponding to the descriptivism opposite. The distinction was made by Richard Hare , based on the question of the status of moral judgments with regard to their relevance to knowledge.

A hallmark of non-descriptivism is the assumption that moral judgments cannot make any claim to objectivity. What is expressed in them can either not be traced back to empirically verifiable facts, or not at all. Proponents of non-descriptivism reject the claim that facts are described by means of value judgments.

Forms of non-descriptivism

Two forms of non-descriptivism can be distinguished:

1. Emotivism
2. prescriptivism