Are Ethics Just Emotions? – Simon Blackburn
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– VIDEO NOTES
Simon Blackburn is well-known both as a writer of popular philosophy introductions (like “Think”), and also a significant figure in non-cognitivist meta-ethics, having invented the term “quasi-realism” to describe his moral philosophy.
– LINKS
Simon Blackburn’s “Think”: https://amzn.to/4mg7kF5
– TIMESTAMPS
0:00 – Cognitivism vs Non-Cognitivism in Ethics
9:40 – Does Ethics Describe or Explain?
18:45 – What is Truth?
28:53 – Emotions vs Attitudes
34:56 – How Can We Define ‘Wrong’?
44:11 – Emotivism’s Biggest Objection: The Frege-Geach Problem
59:48 – Emotivism Outside of Ethics
– CONNECT
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Comments
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@michaelriberdy475
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
Fight the online safety act
@JScholastic
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
Quasi realism is just moral realism read Crispin Wright
@buckperigo6479
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
What if murder is wrong and murdering Simon is wrong…. BUT now Simon murders my wife…. now my expression motivates me to exact justice… is vengeance justified when simon is wrong?
@JustinRinehart
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
This kind of aligns with the definition of "quality" as defined by Robert Persig. Great interview!
@inneskennedy9570
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
Cosy chat. But emotivism/expressivism repeatedly fail, both in terms of parsimony and Frege-Geach. The latest and best attempts demonstrate this. Intuitionism is still the best available account.🤷♀
@MrCmon113
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
After listening to a bunch of stuff on metaethics, I'm now deeply confused about what metaethics is.
I'm in need of meta-meta-ethics.
@JS-dt1tn
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
This is ignoring the telos, which is the whole point of having an ethics in the first place.
@opinion3742
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
Everything has been made up. We are creation. The position that holds other things as being made up has been made up.
@proboque
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
I don’t think you’re getting much from the idea that “the indicative” expresses things the speaker thinks are true. Are the two of you just using the grammatical form of one out of 7000 languages to try to get at some deeper truth?
You’d be missing out on what most humans in history and alive now think and say about “the truth”
Where are you getting mired in mere grammar?
Also what of the meaning of true that means “I checked” or “someone checked”?
@takingchristianityback
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
Jesus was a Mushroom https://youtu.be/83BUnYF5vjE?si=0nSWyla6-VDM-Ohi
Christianity is based on the psychedelic experience
@Kglëüghb
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
The next step in this exploration of expressivism/pragmatism is to invite Amie Thomasson to the show.
@Mr.FlibbleIsVeryCross
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
Those lamps man 🔥
@peterdodds2694
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
I'm gonna need to listen to this one over. Alex's moustache is amazing
@asktoobtain
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
your "GOD" is a fucking cuck losers, figure out how to be creative
@asktoobtain
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
Give me Disrespect of Eat your Warring, the only law
@Truth_Tradition24
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
Hey Alex, 👋 this is Jackson from the Truth & Tradition Podcast. I am on a mission to watch every one of your videos and leave a comment on each of them.
This is excellent! It is helpful to distinguish Cognitivism Vs Non-Cognitivism and Realism Vs Non-Realism for Morality. Often Apologists use Subjective Vs Objective terminology, but I don't think this is precisely accurate.
I'll be honest, a lot of this went over my head, especially the discussion bringing the Syllogisms into a Mathematic expression. I'll have to relisten to this and write-out what you guys are saying so I can better picture it. Great stuff! 👍
@mclaytv
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
R they talking in English? This is a lot!
@Zazacollector
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
This was my favorite episode so far. Man Simon Blackburn is such a powerhouse
@chrissidiras
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
Alex: Murder is wrong == Murder angry emoji
But then
Eating potatoes angry emoji == Eating potatoes is wrong
What about that??
@logandeancook
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
Bad day to be Simon
@Nighthawkinlight
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
If the Christian principle were correct that "God IS love", then I don't see any problem in saying that morals may ultimately be an emotivist manifestation of God's nature itself. I think that view satisfies the theist in looking for external objective morality, it satisfies the Euthyphro dilemma because morals are neither based on God's whims nor on external rules but on his very nature, and it accounts for the human perception of morals being deeply tied to emotion over logic.
@positivity5307
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
Show a clip of that boo/yay dialog to someone in Appalachia and their take away would generally be that atheists practice glossolalia too. However this conversation was the opposite of nonsensical.
@shygrammer
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
one hour listening to people think about how to think. I'm glad videos like this can make sense to me
@xariuzz
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
yes ethics and morals are emotions only and justified by emotions only
@fordprefect1925
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
This clip springs to mind https://youtu.be/oVE2S9EzT6c?si=LK8TqQ6aNef_Q31g
@rodriguezelfeliz4623
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
Superb guest!
@fordprefect1925
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
David enoch next for the opposing view alex, you know you want to 😉
@SpaceFrogFromOuterSpace
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
Anyone else incredibly bothered by that single non-compliant hair sticking sideways out of Alex's head?
@Salamander601
July 31, 2025 at 2:48 am
God was indeed created by our ancestors in ancient times, but with the aim of preventing followers from committing crimes and maintaining peace in the world
# atheis .
Comments are closed.