The is-ought problem is unsolvable.

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All > Philosophy > Ethics > Meta-ethics

The is-ought problem is unsolvable.

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Published by DanielLC, November 3, 2009, 2:28 am GMT
Participation: default

Type: Deductive

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1) PREMISE:

The is-ought problem is the question of how to logically find what ought to be from what is.

The next premise doesn't follow from here. I just felt that this needed to be at the top to give background, even though it's not actually part of the deduction.

2) FROM 1 IT FOLLOWS THAT:

Having an axiom that has an "ought" in it requires starting with an "ought".

3) PREMISE:

Having an axiom schema that has an "ought" in it requires starting with an "ought".

none

4) PREMISE:

Plugging an "ought" into a variable will result in a tautology, and anything you can prove with that would be true for anything.

none

5) FROM 2,3 AND 4 IT FOLLOWS THAT:

There is no way to go from an "is" to an "ought" using an axiom, and axiom schema, or plugging in variables.

none

6) PREMISE:

A step in a logical deduction must be an axiom, an axiom schema, or by plugging variables or possibly already deduced theorems into other already deduced theorems.

none

7) FROM 5 AND 6 IT FOLLOWS THAT:

There is no way to deduce an "ought" from an "is".

none

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I find this topic to be sound

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