A Study Of J.L.Mackie’s Meta-ethics Thoughts

Oxford Philosopher J.L.Mackie as a sincere and persistent moral philosophy researcher has an outstanding position in the group of moral skeptics in now and contemporary times, and has made a great contribution for moral philosophy. His meta-ethics thoughts takes a special place in the meta-ethics register. J.L.Mackie proposes that moral statement can express belief, but all the moral belief actually is false. As an important successor of Hume’s moral philosophy, J.L.Mackie’s understandings of moral statement and belief makes him separated from the emotionalism, and his recognition of moral belief gives him a special position in the cognitivism group. Especially, his argument from queerness for denying the objective moral value attracts the emotionalism, at the same time, facing the critics from the moral realism. Nearly all the moral philosophers aiming to realize his moral realism have to make arguments on his argument from queerness to make a reasonable explanation for moral values in the perspective of metaphysics and epistemology. This is the reason why he as a skeptics has such a special position in meta-ethics research, and becomes an important scholar that you have to know in meta-ethics research. Thus, it is a must to make an all-round understanding of J.L.Mackie’s meta-ethics thoughts.This present paper consists of Introduction, five chapters’systematic arguments, Conclusion and Enlightments.Introduction part covers the research purpose and significance, research status, ways of writing and research methods, and the innovation.Chapter One "An Outline of J.L.Mackie’s Meta-ethics Thoughts and Its Theoretical Resources". It mainly explores Mackie’s personal life introduction and its philosophy thoughts to provide a wide and profound background, which can be a source for making an outline of his meta-ethics thoughts. By referring to Hume’s moral philosophy and Locke’s idea of object’s quality, it is reasonable to reveal the resources of Mackie’s meta-ethics thoughts for providing a comprehensive basis with the arguments in the next chapters.Chapter Two "J.L.Mackie’s Denying of Objective Moral Values". For a better understanding of Mackie’s denying, we should at first look back upon the objective moral values’beginning and development in the history of ethics, and recognizing its main features for deeply surveying the necessity of denying objective moral values. By this, we can make analysis about the difficulties of denying the objective moral values, its features, and whether there is an enough room for denying. From the perspective of construing denying arguments, this present paper will focus on the way of factual analysis. Mackie’s break-through of traditional meta-ethics in ways of arguments has made a great contribution for meta-ethics research. When realizing the analysis of objective moral values from the perspective of the history of ethics, combing clearly the difficulties in denying the objective moral values and the ways of factual analysis, this present paper aims to make explanation and argument for argument from relativity and argument from queerness.Chapter Three "J.L.Mackie’s Explanation of Psychology for Morality". We make a close look at Mackie’s moral arguments and find his relevant arguments cover the projectivism, moral motivation, moral judgment and the explanation of moral belief. Based on this, we will make a confirmation of relevant moral explanation for finding each one a suitable place. In another way, it is a necessary test for confirming whether his argument can keep a consistence and rationality.Chapter Four "J.L.Mackie’s Reasonable Arguments for the Essence of Moral Values". With considering Mackie’s denying of objective moral values, and making an explanation of morality from the perspective of psychology, we will in this chapter make a deep exploration of the understanding of essence in moral values. Specifically, we will make a research about the explanation of essence of moral values and connection between "is" and "ought".Chapter Five "J.L.Mackie’s Practical Moral Choices and Moral Re-construction". We will make an all-round survey based on Mackie’s understanding of Hume, and his development of practical morality, aiming to answer the three questions as follows:Firstly, how Mackie develops a practical morality with the understanding of Hume’s moral philosophy, whether its argument is right? Secondly, how Mackie develops a normative ethics with the understanding of Hume’s moral philosophy, whether its rationality is enough? Thirdly, from the perspective of rule-consequentialism, what contribution has Mackie’s normative ethics made, what is his shortcoming?Conclusion and Enlightment "Reconsidering J.L.Mackie’s Meta-ethics Thoughts and Its Enlightment for Moral Values". Based on the four chapters above, we will make a more comprehensive reconsideration of Mackie’s meta-ethics, and propose some advices brought by moral values. Specifically, we will explore from the four aspects as follows:the successor and changes from Hume’s moral philosophy, the consistence in Mackie’s meta-ethics arguments, the advantages and shortcomings from Mackie’s argument from queerness, Mackie’s meta-ethics arguments and practical moral choices. We also make some advises, one is to enforce the method of scientific experiment with morality research, the other is to propose to respect the individual and social moral choices.