Naturalism, sometimes also called definism, is a theory in meta-ethics that holds that ethical terms can be defined; the meaning of ethical sentences can be given in totally non-ethical terms. So to the question, "Can the meaning of ethical sentences be restated in other words that do not use normative concepts like 'good' and 'right'?" the naturalist answers, "Definitely." On the naturalist's view, ultimately, goodness and right are natural properties--they are ultimately properties of things that can be located in the natural world. The opposite view, ethical non-naturalism, was famously defended by G. E. Moore. In philosophy, meta-ethics is the branch of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties (if there are any), and ethical statements, attitudes, and judgments. ... A definition may be a statement of the essential properties of a certain thing, or a statement of equivalence between one expression and another, usually more complex expression that gives the meaning of the first. ... Ethics (from Greek ethikos) is the branch of axiology – one of the four major branches of philosophy, alongside metaphysics, epistemology, and logic – which attempts to understand the nature of morality; to define that which is right from that which is wrong. ... Norms are a sort of sentences or sentence meanings, the most common of which are commands and permissions. ... ... A property is an intrinsic or extrinsic quality of an object—where an object may be of any differing nature, depending on the context and field — be it computing, philosophy, etc. ... Natural is defined as of or relating to nature; this applies to both definitions of nature: essence (ones true nature) and the untouched world (force of nature). Natural is often used meaning good, healthy, or belonging to human nature. This use can be questioned, as many freely growing plants... The World in plate carrée projection The World In English, world is rooted in a compound of the obsolete words were, man, and eld, age; thus, its oldest meaning is age or life of man. Its primary modern meaning is the planet Earth, especially when capitalized: the World. ... This article needs cleanup. ... George Edward Moore George Edward Moore, also known as G.E. Moore, (November 4, 1873 - October 24, 1958) was a distinguished and hugely influential English philosopher who was educated and taught at the University of Cambridge. ...

We might give a more detailed definition, in terms of propositions and reduction, that, in generalities, expresses the general understanding of the term: Proposition is a term used in logic to describe the content of assertions. ... Reduction or reducing has several meanings: In mathematics, reduction is the process of manipulating a series of equations or matrices into a desired simpler format. ...

Naturalism is the view that ethical sentences express propositions and that they can be reduced to nonethical sentences.

Examination of definition

The first part of the defintion, "that ethical sentences express propositions" expresses a view called cognitivism. In ethics, cognitivism is the view that ethical sentences express propositions and can therefore be true or false (they are truth-apt). ...

Ethical naturalism combines cognitivism with moral reductionism—the idea that ethical sentences "can be reduced to nonethical sentences". Thus, this theory holds that the meaning of ethical statements can be expressed without using ethical terms such as "good" and "right". In this way, ethical statements become a kind of shorthand, or useful abbreviation, for claims about what are ultimately nonethical facts about human needs or desires.

Theory of value

The theory of value — an important branch of ethics — contains a number of theories of what "good" means or, construed differently, what general sorts of things are good. One could look at the theory of value as a way of determining how to reduce goodness to nonethical properties, for there are many examples of such reductions in value theory. Hedonism, for example, is the view that goodness is ultimately just pleasure. It should be noted, however, that not all philosophers working on value theory would view their theories as reductions. Value theory concerns itself with the worth, utility, trading or economic value, moral value, legal value, quantitative or aesthetic value of people and things - or the combination of all these. ... Ethics (from Greek ethikos) is the branch of axiology – one of the four major branches of philosophy, alongside metaphysics, epistemology, and logic – which attempts to understand the nature of morality; to define that which is right from that which is wrong. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... This article is about an emotion. ...