The Appeal of Moral Naturalism

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the search for natural, non-subjective moral properties. If properties such as moral goodness and moral wrongness take this form, then claims involving the relevant moral terms can simply state empirical and objective facts. However, the arguments of moral naturalists cannot establish that goodness is a non-subjective property, or that such “thin” properties as moral wrongness actually exist. Some moral naturalists appeal to thick moral terms in an effort to combine naturalistic properties with objective moral authority, but this ploy also fails.