Abstract

Abstract: The aim of this study is to reconstruct and analyze critically the proposal defended by David Copp in his work Morality in the Natural World - Selected Essays in Metaethics, of a meta-ethical theory called "realist-expressivism." In the first part of the paper, I will reconstruct the more general features of Copp’s ethical thinking and, more specifically, I will present the realist expressivism as a metaethical option. On the second part, I will critically evaluate the possibility of reconciling expressivism and realism showing that the practical cognitivism avoids the problems from realist-expressivism and has numerous other advantages.

Keywords: David Copp, naturalism, realist-expressivism, practical cognitivism, metaethics.