1. Rachel Petrik Based on writing by A.J. Ayer
Emotivism
Rachel Petrik
Based on writing by A.J. Ayer

2. A.J. Ayer 20th century English philosopher
Wrote Language, Truth, and Logic in 1936
Established himself as leading English rep of Logical Positivism

3. Logical Positivism Also called logical empiricism
Empiricism= concepts originate in experience and propositions are justifiable only through experience
View that scientific knowledge is the only kind of factual knowledge
Metaphysical statements are not factual

4. Emotivism Teaches that moral statements: Are meaningless
Only express the speaker’s feelings about the issue
Later emotivists added the idea that moral statements are used to influence another person’s thoughts and conduct by informing them of the speaker’s feelings

5. Moral Statements Does not literally spell out the speaker’s feelings
Expresses feelings, approval, or disapproval with emotive force
Similar to connotation
The overtones of feeling that a word arouses
Separate from its literal meaning
Is the difference between conveying information and appealing to feelings

6. Ayer’s Ideas and Principles
All meaningful statements are analytic (true by definition) or synthetic (deriving meaning from being empirically verifiable)
Called the Verification Principle
Ethical terms cannot be translated into statements of empirical fact
The inability to translate into empirical fact makes them unverifiable
Ethical statements are synthetic, not analytic
Therefore, moral facts do not exist

7. Cannot adopt a subjectivist or utilitarian analysis of ethical terms
Utilitarian: rightness and goodness in terms of pleasure or happiness that result
Subjectivist: approval of the action from a certain person or group
Belongs to psychology or sociology, not philosophy
These two views cannot be absolute
To accept absolute view, recognize ethical concepts are irreducible to empirical concepts
Therefore ethics do not derive from observation
Instead from intellectual intuition
No criterion to decide between conflicting intuitions

8. Ethical concepts are pseudo-concepts
Ethical or moral statement does not add factual content to a proposition
Simply evincing moral approval or disapproval
A proposition only containing ethical symbols has no factual meaning

9. Evaluating Emotivism
The verification principle appears to be synthetic, but not empirically verifiable
There are moral disagreements
Yet if there is no reason or fact behind moral statements, why do we argue?
Seems possible to judge something to be morally wrong without having any emotional reaction to it

10. Summary Emotivism is not a widely accepted theory today
Most philosophers think moral statements are more than just expressions of feeling