Normative Reasoning and Moral Argumentation in Theory and Practice

Ryan Gillespie University of California, Los Angeles

Abstract

Abstract“Morality is relative to culture” is a descriptive claim, but in practice its normative entailment is rarely embraced. It is often claimed that this poses a problem of consistency for relativism as a morally normative theory: either relativists do not act in accordance with their beliefs or they hold different beliefs from what they espouse. This article evaluates a debate between Paul Boghossian and Stanley Fish over relativism, analyzing their arguments on the relationship between theory and practice in ethics and the tenability of moral relativism. I defend two claims: that the truth or falsity of moral relativism has significant bearing on action and that morality is based on a conjunctivity of doxastic and practical discursive commitments. Establishing the conjunctive commitment argument, I make the case that the doxastic and the practical lie at the heart of normative reasoning in general and ethics in particular and discuss the implications of such a view for rhetorical theory and community.

Journal
Philosophy & Rhetoric
Published
2016-02-22
DOI
10.5325/philrhet.49.1.0049
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (53) · 2 in this index

  1. Aikin, Scott F. 2008. “Three Objections to the Epistemic Theory of Argument Rebutted.” Argumentation and Advo…
  2. Brandom, Robert. 1998. “Action, Norms, and Practical Reasoning.” Philosophical Perspectives 33 (12): 127–39.
  3. Boghossian, Paul. 2007. Fear of Knowledge: Against Relativism and Constructivism. New York: Oxford University…
  4. Boghossian, Paul. 2008a. “Précis of Fear of Knowledge.” Philosophical Studies 141 (3): 377–78.
  5. Boghossian, Paul. 2008b. “Replies to Wright, MacFarlane, and Sosa.” Philosophical Studies 141 (3): 409–32.
Show all 53 →
  1. Boghossian, Paul. 2011. “The Maze of Moral Relativism.” New York Times, 24 Jul. http://opinionator.blogs.nyti…
  2. Burke, F. Thomas. 2013. What Pragmatism Was. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
  3. Butler, Judith, Ernesto Laclau, and Slavoj Žižek. 2000. Contingency, Hegemony, Universality. New York: Verso.
  4. Collingwood, Robin G. 1970. An Autobiography. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  5. Cuneo, Terence. 2014. Speech and Morality. New York: Oxford University Press.
  6. Dworkin, Ronald. 1996. “Objectivity and Truth: You'd Better Believe It.” Philosophy and Public Affairs 25 (2)…
  7. Fantl, Jeremy. 2006. “Is Metaethics Morally Neutral?” Pacific Philosophy Quarterly 87 (1): 24–44.
  8. Fantl, Jeremy, and Matthew McGrath. 2002. “Evidence, Pragmatics, and Justification.” The Philosophical Review…
  9. Farrell, Thomas. 1991. “Practicing the Arts of Rhetoric: Tradition and Invention.” Philosophy and Rhetoric 24…
  10. Finlay, Stephen. 2006. “The Reasons That Matter.” Australasian Journal of Philosophy 84 (1): 1–20.
  11. Finlay, Stephen. 2014. Confusion of Tongues: A Theory of Normativity. New York: Oxford University Press.
  12. Fish, Stanley. 1994. There's No Such Thing as Free Speech … And It's a Good Thing Too. New York: Oxford Unive…
  13. Fish, Stanley. 1999. The Trouble with Principle. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  14. Fish, Stanley. 2000. “Theory Minimalism.” San Diego Law Review 37 (3): 761–76.
  15. Fish, Stanley. 2001. “Condemnation without Absolutes.” New York Times, 15 Oct.
  16. Fish, Stanley. 2003. “Truth But No Consequences: Why Philosophy Doesn't Matter.” Critical Inquiry 29 (3): 389–417.
  17. Fish, Stanley. 2011a. “Does Philosophy Matter?,” pt. 1. New York Times, 1 Aug. http://opinionator.blogs.nytim…
  18. Fish, Stanley. 2011b. “Does Philosophy Matter?,” pt. 2. New York Times, 8 Aug. http://opinionator.blogs.nytim…
  19. Garver, Eugene. 2004. For The Sake of Argument: Practical Reasoning, Character, and the Ethics of Belief. Chi…
  20. Gibbard, Allan. 2003. Thinking How to Live. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  21. Gibbard, Allan. 2008. Reconciling Our Aims: In Search of Bases for Ethics. New York: Oxford University Press.
  22. Philosophy & Rhetoric
  23. Gillespie, Ryan. 2015. “Disturbing Categorical Reason in Moral Argumentation.” In Disturbing Argument, ed. Ca…
  24. Grimaldi, William M. A. 1958. “Rhetoric and the Philosophy of Aristotle.” Classical Journal 53 (8): 371–75.
  25. Harpine William D. 2004. “What Do You Mean, Rhetoric is Epistemic?” Philosophy and Rhetoric 37 (4): 335–52.
  26. Hauser, Gerald. 2007. “Philosophy and Rhetoric: An Abbreviated History of an Evolving Identity.” Philosophy a…
  27. Johnstone, Henry W., Jr. 1952. “Philosophy and Argumentum ad Hominem.” Journal of Philosophy 49 (15): 489–98.
  28. Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  29. Keith, William, and David Beard. 2008. “Toulmin's Rhetorical Logic: What's the Warrant for Warrants?” Philoso…
  30. MacIntyre, Alasdair. 1984. After Virtue. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
  31. Nagel, Thomas. 1986. The View from Nowhere. New York: Oxford University Press.
  32. Parfit, Derek. 2011. On What Matters. 2 vols. New York: Oxford University Press.
  33. Perelman, Chaïm. 1982. The Realm of Rhetoric. Trans. William Kluback. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dam…
  34. Remer, Gary. 2009. “Rhetoric as Balancing of Ends: Cicero and Machiavelli.” Philosophy and Rhetoric 42 (1): 1–28.
  35. Rosati, Connie. 2006. “Moral Motivation.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://plato.stanford.edu/entr…
  36. Scott, Robert L. 1967. “On Viewing Rhetoric as Epistemic.” Central States Speech Journal 18 (1): 9–17.
  37. Scott, Robert L. 1976. “On Viewing Rhetoric as Epistemic: Ten Years Later.” Central States Speech Journal 27 …
  38. Scott, Robert L. 2000. “Between Silence and Certainty: A Codicil to ‘Dialectical Tensions of Speaking and Sil…
  39. Sloterdijk, Peter. 2013. You Must Change Your Life. Malden, MA: Polity.
  40. Stroud, Scott R. 2005. “Rhetoric and Moral Progress in Kant's Ethical Community.” Philosophy and Rhetoric 38 …
  41. Talisse, Robert B. 2014. “Review of What Pragmatism Was.” Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. http://ndpr.nd.ed…
  42. Toulmin, Stephen E. 1958. Uses of Argument. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  43. Toulmin, Stephen E. 2003. Return to Reason. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  44. Verene, Donald. 2010. “The Sociopath and the Ring of Gyges: A Problem in Rhetorical and Moral Philosophy.” Ph…
  45. Vickers, Brian. 1989. In Defence of Rhetoric. New York: Oxford University Press.
  46. Walton, Doug, and Erik C. W. Krabbe. 1995. Commitment in Dialogue. New York: State University of New York Press.
  47. Wedgwood, Ralph. 2004. “The Metaethicist's Mistake.” Philosophical Perspectives 18: 405–26.
  48. Wittgenstein, Ludwig. 1997. “Lecture on Ethics.” In Moral Discourse and Practice, ed. Stephen Darwall, Allan …