The better angels of our nature: an exploration of constructivism in ethics, the normative dimension of peak experiences, and the phenomenology of meditation practice
This thesis is about constructivism in ethics. More specifically, it is about an unusual and little-known meta-ethical theory called ‘Humean constructivism’. I try to do three main things in this thesis. First, I try to illuminate a constellation of positions in logical space: Humean constructivism...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
2023
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/76727/ |
| Summary: | This thesis is about constructivism in ethics. More specifically, it is about an unusual and little-known meta-ethical theory called ‘Humean constructivism’. I try to do three main things in this thesis. First, I try to illuminate a constellation of positions in logical space: Humean constructivism and its constructivist neighbours. Second, I try to paint a nuanced picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the view – I do this in the hope that the resulting portrait, when viewed from some distance, will appear attractive and interesting to potential buyers. Third, I try to enhance Humean constructivism. This third project, that of enhancement, takes up the latter half of the thesis; it will involve a strange fusion of topics: meta-ethics, moral psychology, and the phenomenology of peak experiences and meditative experiences.
Ultimately, I hope to show that Humean constructivism is one of the most plausible forms of subjectivism on the market right now and is worth serious consideration as a theory of ethical truth. Let me add, however, that parts of this thesis may be of broader interest to those whose speciality is not in meta-ethics per se but in areas such as phenomenology and philosophy of mind. Chapter 4 of this thesis, for instance, involves a lengthy analysis of certain kinds of transcendent, numinous, perspective-altering experiences – a.k.a. peak experiences – and of the first-person, experiential side of various strands of meditation practice, such as vipassanā. |
|---|