Abstract

2. How do moral judgments "describe"? This question is raised by Messrs. Blanshard and Terrell. The judgment "You ought to do this" would be translated by the emotivist as "I approve...," by the sociological relativist as "Society approves...," and by the "non-naturalist" as "There is an unanalyzable quality of ought..." All three of these statements are descriptive in emphasis. I do not agree with any of these views, but I use them to illustrate how common it is to think of moral judgments as also descriptive. In general we may say that moral judgments enjoin a demand, which is a relation between the person obligated and whatever obligates him. The moral judgment asserts that this relation exists and is therefore descriptive in that sense.