The Ideology Of The General Provisions Of The Hale Study

To figure out what moral language means is the precondition for effective ethical arguments and ethical research. In this respect, what metaethical philosophers have done is worthy of our noting. Richard M. Hare, one of the leading figures in Anglo-American metaethics, presented us his theory of universal prescriptivism by the analysis of moral language, which has a significant influence on the development of metaethics.Hare thought that the essential character of moral languages was prescriptivity. The purpose of using moral language is to prescribe and guide actions, so, we can not confuse moral judgements with factual statements or judgements. Since a moral judgement implies an imperative, to say yes to a moral judgement is parallel to acceding to an imperative. Not only moral discourses but also other kinds of discourses have the character of prescriptivity. So how can we tell the difference between moral discourses and others? Hare proposed the principle of universalization. He thought the prescription of moral language is universal, i.e., it is valid for everyone. For example, if Zhangsan says that Lisi's cheating on an exam was morally wrong, then what he means also includes the following:anyone's cheating on an exam in the similar circumstances is also morally wrong. It is universal prescriptivity that makes moral language differ from other prescriptive languages. Furthermore, Hare derived his utilitarianism from his universal prescriptivism.In the history of contemporary Western metaethics, Hare's prescriptivism is a noncognitive theory following up Ayer and Stevenson's theories. This theory reveals the character of noncognition of moral language and makes a contribution to the development of noncognitivism. Hare's theory helps us to understand the essential nature of "normativity" or "prescriptivity" of moral language. In addition, what he showed us how moral reasoning goes is helpful for us to research the content of practical reason. The major objection to Hare's prescriptivism is:how to explain the character of truth-aptness of moral language from a noncognitivist point of view.