What is objectivity?
Can objective moral claims be made?

"There is a tree!" - I say.
"I agree, there is!" - you respond.

We agree that it is objectively true and empirically verifiable (you can call your friend and tell them there is a tree, and then they can come and check it out for themselves). Can the same be done for morality?

Lets assume there is a button. If you press this button, there will be no rape committed today (without any consequences, just no rape). Would you press this button?

Could people who do not press this button be categorized as evil? Can't we say they are objectively wrong?

"There are sadists, psychopaths who would not press this button! Ha! I win!" - you say.

There are some people who would not see the tree. The blind, or the psychotic who are hallucinating and so on. We would say they are lacking something. Can't we say the same for the ones who would not press the button?

Moral claims are just expressions of emotions, an emotivist would say. But does it mean objectivity cannot be reached? What is the difference between seeing a tree and strongly feeling something is right or wrong? Aren't both of these things just perceived by us? Don't they just appear in our consciousness? Are sight and other senses more real than feelings? How are senses different than feelings, thoughts, dreams, fantasies? Does objectivity exist at all? Or is everything objective?
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2024-04-15 13:21:24