Philosophy 1230: Bonus Content: Values

Reasoning and Critical Thinking Statements about Facts and Values

Statements
about Facts
and Values
Bonus Content: Values
Reasoning and Critical Thinking
(Philosophy 1230)
Angela Mendelovici

Statements about values

• Statements about values are statements about what is valuable and what values
there are.
Cheating is wrong.
Modern art is beautiful.

Being honest is more important than being right.

Statements about facts

• Statements about facts are other kinds of statements.

Harry cheated on the test.

The MoMA contains pieces of modern art.

Evanthia thinks being honest is more important than being right.

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Philosophy 1230: Bonus Content: Values
Reasoning and Critical Thinking Statements about Facts and Values

Examples
• Is this a statement about facts or a statement about values?

Murder is wrong.

Examples
• Is this a statement about facts or a statement about values?

Murder is wrong.

Examples
• Is this a statement about facts or a statement about values?

In 2012, there were 598 homicides in Canada.

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Philosophy 1230: Bonus Content: Values
Reasoning and Critical Thinking Statements about Facts and Values

Examples
• Is this a statement about facts or a statement about values?

In 2012, there were 598 homicides in Canada.

Examples
• Is this a statement about facts or a statement about values?

Most people believe that murder is wrong.

Examples
• Is this a statement about facts or a statement about values?

Most people believe that murder is wrong.

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Philosophy 1230: Bonus Content: Values
Reasoning and Critical Thinking Statements about Facts and Values

Descriptive and normative statements

Statements about facts are descriptive in Moral statements are normative in that
that they describe how things are. they tell us what should or ought to be
the case, not just what is the case.

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Examples of normative statements

Torture is wrong.
☞ We should not torture people.

We should help those in need.

It was wrong of Sam to hit Joe.

☞ Sam shouldn’t have hit Joe.

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The normative-descriptive gap

• Consider the following argument:

P1. Everyone is selfish.

C. Therefore, it’s OK to be selfish.

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Philosophy 1230: Bonus Content: Values
Reasoning and Critical Thinking Statements about Facts and Values

The normative-descriptive gap

• Consider the following argument:

P1. Everyone is selfish.

C. Therefore, it’s OK to be selfish.

• The argument has a descriptive premise and a normative conclusion.

• But from the fact that everyone is selfish, it does not follow that it is OK to be
selfish.
• We cannot infer a normative claim from descriptive claims alone.

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The naturalistic fallacy

Inferring that something should be a certain way because it is that way

• E.g.
• “Animals kill and eat each other. Therefore, there’s nothing
wrong with killing and eating animals.”
• “Women have the capacity to have children. Therefore, their
proper role in society is that of being mothers.”
• From the fact that things are a certain way, it does not
follow that they should be that way.
• The naturalistic fallacy is related to the claim that you can’t
derive an “ought” from an “is”.
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The normative-descriptive gap

• Let’s try to improve this argument so it doesn’t attempt to derive a normative claim
from descriptive claims alone.

P1. Everyone is selfish.

P2. If everyone does something, then doing that thing is OK.
C. It’s OK to be selfish.

• The argument does not attempt to derive a normative claim from descriptive
premises alone because it has a normative premise, (P2).

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Philosophy 1230: Bonus Content: Values
Reasoning and Critical Thinking Statements about Facts and Values

The normative-descriptive gap

• Let’s try to improve this argument so it doesn’t attempt to derive a normative claim
from descriptive claims alone.

P1. Everyone is selfish.

P2. If everyone does something, then doing that thing is OK.
C. It’s OK to be selfish.

• The argument does not attempt to derive a normative claim from descriptive
premises alone because it has a normative premise, (P2).
• The argument is valid but arguably unsound.

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Example
• Does the following argument attempt to derive a normative claim from
descriptive claims alone?

P1. Cloning is unnatural.

C. Therefore, we should not clone.

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Example
• Does the following argument attempt to derive a normative claim from
descriptive claims alone?

P1. Cloning is unnatural.

C. Therefore, we should not clone.

• The conclusion is a normative claim, and all

the premises are descriptive claims.

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Philosophy 1230: Bonus Content: Values
Reasoning and Critical Thinking Statements about Facts and Values

Example
• Does the following argument attempt to derive a normative claim from
descriptive claims alone?

P1. Cloning is unnatural.

P2. We should not do unnatural things.
C. Therefore, we should not clone.

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Another example
• Does the following argument attempt to derive a normative claim from
descriptive claims alone?

P1. Most people believe cloning is wrong.

C. Therefore, some people believe cloning is wrong.

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Another example
• Does the following argument attempt to derive a normative claim from
descriptive claims alone?

P1. Most people believe cloning is wrong.

C. Therefore, some people believe cloning is wrong.

• No, it does not. (C) is a descriptive claim.

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Philosophy 1230: Bonus Content: Values
Reasoning and Critical Thinking Statements about Facts and Values

Valid arguments with normative conclusions

• In order to be valid, an argument with a

normative conclusion must have at least one
normative premise.

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The end
Thank you!

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