Parsimony and the Argument from Queerness

Res Philosophica 91 (4):609-627 (2014)
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Abstract

In his recent book Error Theory: History, Critique, Defence, Jonas Olson attempts to revive the argument from queerness originally made famous by J.L. Mackie. In this paper, we do three things. First, we eliminate four untenable formulations of the argument. Second, we argue that the most plausible formulation is one that depends crucially upon considerations of parsimony. Finally, we evaluate this formulation of the argument. We conclude that it is unproblematic for proponents of moral non-naturalism—the target of the argument from queerness.

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Author Profiles

Eric Sampson
Purdue University
Justin Morton
University of California, Davis

Citations of this work

Error Theory in Metaethics.Jonas Olson - 2018 - In Tristram Colin McPherson & David Plunkett (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Metaethics. New York: Routledge. pp. 58-71.
Is Irreducible Normativity Impossibly Queer?Teemu Toppinen - 2016 - Journal of Moral Philosophy 13 (4):437-460.

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References found in this work

Moral Error Theory: History, Critique, Defence.Jonas Olson - 2014 - Oxford: Oxford University Press.
The nature of morality: an introduction to ethics.Gilbert Harman - 1977 - New York: Oxford University Press.
Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong.Fred Feldman & J. L. Mackie - 1979 - Philosophical Review 88 (1):134.
Logic of Statistical Inference.Ian Hacking - 1965 - Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

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