Felsefe Bölümü: "If I Were You: Plan-Based Expressivism and Planning in Another's Shoes"

5th April 

Andrew Fyfe

University of Maryland 

USA 

17:00 JF 507

'If I Were You: Plan-Based Expressivism and Planning in Another's Shoes'

Abstract

 Expressivism views moral judgments ("Murder is wrong") not as assertions about what actions possess "wrongness" but rather as expressions of non-belief mental states — such as a negative feeling ("Boo Murder!") or a directive ("Don't murder!"). Plan-based expressivism (PBE) is expressivism's latest iteration. PBE interprets moral judgments as expressions of personal planning commitments ("I will never murder.").
     However, PBE faces a challenge. Moral judgments aren't only about us. They also concern others. So, how does a personal no-murder pledge encompass the wider assertion that others also shouldn't murder? PBE's solution depends upon the notion of "If I were you" planning. This involves projecting into others' shoes and deciding from there. I plan not to murder, even if I were you. 
     However, the coherence of  "If I were you" planning is questionable. Can one plan for what to do as someone else? It doesn't seem so. In this talk, I will attempt a rescue. I aim to reconcile the colloquial use of 'If I were you' in our common-sense practices of advising one another with the philosophical demands of PBE. Ultimately, I argue for the feasibility of "If I were you" planning exactly as envisioned and needed by plan-based expressivist metaethicists.