Simple Subjectivism Analysis

1) Rachels means these claims are expressions of an individuals feelings. The first stage of understanding this is in Simple Subjectivism, in which each individuals decide whether it is morally good or bad, “This means that he or she approves of that thing, or disapproves of it, and nothing more.” (34). By which he means, these people are simply stating their own opinions on the matter, and according to Simple Subjectivism there can be no disagreement between two individuals with contradicting opinions because they are not “speaking” to each other. The second stage of this explanation is found in Emotivism itself. “[Language] is used to make statements—that is to state facts…However language is also used for other purposes…[as] a command.” (36). For example, a statement: “Billy Goats urinate on their head” can be turned into a command or opinion: “Ew, Gross” or “Yeah! Awesome!”. The emotivist successfully avoids critiques of Simple Subjectivism, by allowing moral language to not be a fact stating language (37). This means that the two emotivists in the goat example are simply stating their own individual opinions on a fact about Billy Goats, and in turn, not disagreeing with each …show more content…
“biotic and abiotic Nature are so inextricably involved with each other, as a matter of fact, the former cannot be divorced from the latter.” (90). Because of this, it would be unreasonable to become arrogant, and think of yourself as superior to something that you rely on, rather it is better to show humility through “reverential fear” for its power over us, and “wonder” for how remarkable and wonderful Nature is. This in turn shows how “Awe and Humility…dictate that we should maintain a respectful distance from nature.” (94). In other words, it is important that we understand and recognize our relationship with abiotic nature and stay cognizant of the fact that we rely on it to support