Related Ideas

Review these ideas and then use the BACK key in your browser to return to the page you were on.

The search for foundations for moral knowledge has been common in modern moral philosophy. For example, Immanuel Kant believed that he had found a test for true moral principles in his categorical imperative. James and John Stuart Mill may have believed that morality could be grounded in the science of psychology. Herbert Spencer hoped to found morals on his theory of evolution. G. E. Moore believed that at least some people could perceive a non-moral quality of goodness. Alan Gewirth bases human rights on the "necessary conditions of human action."

Nevertheless, the pursuit of solid foundations has never yielded anything approaching a consensus. In its place, some recent philosophers have put the stress on what may be called "rational methods for resolving moral disputes." After all, if disputes can be resolved, it does not matter at the practical level whether we have consensus on foundations for knowledge.

Postmodern philosophers have referred the search for foundations as 'foundationalism' and rejected the entire enterprise as misguided. In their view the alleged foundations are an illusion that conceals other, more important, facts such as the distribution of power and the oppression of certain groups.

Reference: