Cowan, R. (2020) The puzzle of moral memory. Journal of Moral Philosophy, 17(2), pp. 202-228. (doi: 10.1163/17455243-20192914)
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Abstract
A largely overlooked and puzzling feature of morality is Moral Memory: apparent cases of directly memorising, remembering, and forgetting first-order moral propositions seem odd. To illustrate: consider someone apparently memorising that capital punishment is wrong, or acting as if they are remembering that euthanasia is permissible, or reporting that they have forgotten that torture is wrong. I here clarify Moral Memory and identify desiderata of good explanations. I then proceed to amend the only extant account, Bugeja’s (2016) Non-Cognitivist explanation, but show that it isn’t superior to a similar Cognitivist-friendly view, and that both explanations face a counterexample. Following this, I consider and reject a series of alternative Cognitivist-friendly explanations, suggesting that a Practicality-Character explanation that appeals to the connection between the practicality of moral attitude and character is superior. However, I conclude that support for this explanation should remain conditional and tentative.
Item Type: | Articles |
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Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Cowan, Dr Robert |
Authors: | Cowan, R. |
Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BJ Ethics |
College/School: | College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Philosophy |
Journal Name: | Journal of Moral Philosophy |
Publisher: | Brill |
ISSN: | 1740-4681 |
ISSN (Online): | 1745-5243 |
Published Online: | 05 February 2020 |
Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2020 Robert Cowan |
First Published: | First published in Journal of Moral Philosophy 17(2): 202-228 |
Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
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