Geoffrey Sayre-McCord's "Realist" Interview
Here is a favorite moral argument of all time.
- It is wrong to tell lies.
- If it is wrong to tell lies, it is wrong to get your little brother to tell lies.
- ∴ It is wrong to get your little brother to tell lies.
First, According to Gibbard, for any normative sentence we replace those predicates with N-corresponding predicates (e.g. N-required, N-optional, N-forbidden). Second, the normative content of such sentences is this: S holds at <w, n> iff S_n holds at w. Thus, here is the paraphrase:
- Feeling guilt and resentment for lying is N-permitted at w.
- If feeling guilt and resentment for lying is N-permitted at w, then feeling guilt and resentment for getting little brother to lie is N-permitted at w.
- ∴ Feeling guilt and resentment for getting little brother to lie is N-permitted at w.
An argument is Gibbard-valid iff there is no <w, n> where the premises hold and yet the conclusion. Since there is true of (1), (2), (3), we have a valid argument.
Question: Do you think Gibbard resolves the Frege-Geach problem? Why or why not?