Objectivism Subjectivism and Relativism in Ethics

Do we desire things because they are good or are they good because we desire them? Objectivists answer that we desire things because they are good; subjectivists answer that things are good because we desire them. Further does it make sense to account for moral disagreement by claiming as the moral relativist does that something might be good for one person but not for another? Some essays in this book consider whether objective moral truths can be grounded in an understanding of the nature of human beings as rational and social animals. Some discuss the ethical theories of historical figuresAristotle Aquinas or Kantor offer critical assessments of the work of recent and contemporary theoristssuch as Moore Putnam Ayn Rand Philippa Foot and Rosalind Hursthouse. Other essays ask whether moral principles and values can be constructed through a process of practical reasoning or deliberation. Still others consider what the phenomenology of our moral experiences can reveal about moral objectivity.