A Critical Investigation into Moral Error Theory

Moral Error Theory was formulated by J. L. Mackie and later modified and supported by other scholars, including Richard Joyce. The theory has been so influential that some authorities consider new realism of late 20th century a response to Moral Error Theory and an attempt to resolve the dilemmas Mackie created for the moral objectivists. In other words, followers of this theory believe that all moral propositions, while descriptive of truth, are false, for the truth they refer to does not exist in the outside world.It has both positive and negative aspects. Its negative aspect is related to ontology or moral metaphysics. In this regard, the supporters of Moral Error Theory reject the existence of moral facts. Its positive aspect is, in fact, its semantic and linguistic aspect; the moral facts are said to refer to real affairs, moral sentences are descriptive, and the language of morals is used to serve this purpose.Caught between Realism and Non-Realism, Moral Error Theory, thus, takes the middle stance; it accepts the value of moral sentences in the same way as Realists do. On the other side, it rejects objective moral facts in the same manner as Moral Non-Realism does.