Truth?

One of the most important issues in ethics concerns the status of moral views. Are they either true or false (as are, say, statements regarding mathematics and biology), or are they merely matters of taste? Throughout the history of philosophy numerous theories have emerged and evolved each attempting to establish and defend a position on whether or not truths and falsehoods in ethics exist. Of those theories that accept that ethical statements and opinions must be either true or false there are three in particular that seem to be repeatedly discussed and defended throughout philosophy’s history. These three philosophies - Realism, Cognitivism and Absolutism, are individually opposed by three counter theories Anti-Realism, Non-Cognitivism, and Relativism –each taking some form of the opinion that no standard exists by which to judge truth in ethics. Under these three opposing philosophies, moral beliefs and judgments can be neither true nor false and there are no normative tru...