The Unbelievable Truth About Morality

Have you ever suspected that even though we call some actions right and other actions wrong, nothing is really right or wrong? If so, there is a philosophical theory that agrees with you: the error theory. According to the error theory, moral judgements are beliefs that ascribe moral properties to actions or to people, but these properties do not exist. The error theory therefore entails that all moral judgements are false. Just as atheism says that God does not exist and that all religious beliefs are false, the error theory says that moral properties do not exist and that all moral judgements are false. Suppose, for example, that you think stealing is wrong. According to the error theory, you then have a belief that ascribes the property of being wrong to stealing. But the property of being wrong does not exist, which means that stealing this does not have this property. This entails that your belief is false. Suppose next that I think stealing is permissible. According to the error theory, I then have a belief that ascribes the property of being permissible to stealing. But the property of being permissible also does not exist, which means that stealing does not have this property either. This entails that my belief is just as false as your belief. In other words, if the error theory is true, stealing is neither wrong nor permissible. Similar claims apply to all other moral judgements: judgements about rightness, goodness, badness, virtue, and so on. If the error theory is true, all of these judgements are...