Dartmouth Events

Monday, July 28 
1:30-3pm
1930 rm, Rocky

Prof Michael Gill, Edinburgh Visiting Professor of Philosophy
Talk title: “Humean Constructivism and the Authoritative Ought”

Abstract: "What makes it true that we authoritatively ought to perform an action? I examine Humean constructivist answers to that question, according to which what makes it true that we authoritatively ought to perform an action is that we would, were we to reflect properly, have a certain kind of positive response toward performing the action. I distinguish two kinds of Humean constructivist views: substantivist and formalist. Substantivists believe there are substantive moral practical principles that proper reflection inevitably leads all of us to—moral principles with content, principles that prescribe particular types of action. Formalists deny that we are warranted in thinking that proper reflection will invariably lead all of us to the same substantive moral principles; according to formalists, we can identify the form of authoritative oughts, but we cannot identify the authoritative ought with any particular moral content. I argue for the formalist version of Humean constructivism."

Convened by Prof David Plunkett. The Sapientia Lecture Series is underwritten by the Mark J. Byrne 1985 Fund in Philosophy, which is an endowment established in 1996 to help support the study of philosophy at Dartmouth College.