Reference Magnetism as a Solution to the Moral Twin Earth Problem

Abstract

Ohio State University 'Moral twin Earth' thought experiments constitute a central semantic challenge to naturalistic normative realism. this paper first outlines a general framework for understanding the challenge, according to which (i) central normative terms are semantically stable in ways that contrast with many other paradigmatic descriptive terms, and (ii) realists should expect to have a unified metasemantic theory that explains the difference in stability between the normative and descriptive terms in question. the most attractive way of meeting this challenge, we argue, appeals to the idea of reference magnetism. according to this influential idea, some properties are reference magnets, which (roughly) means that they are comparatively easy to refer to. We argue that (together with other plausible assumptions) reference magnetism can provide an attractive explanation of both the general phenomenon of varying semantic stability, and the distinctive semantic stability of normative terms. We illustrate this by showing that reference magnetism can smoothly vindicate plausible judgments about Moral twin Earth cases. We conclude by offering an alternative gloss on our account, for those wary of the metaphysical commitments we propose. the alternative account adapts our proposal to provide a debunking explanation of the apparent semantic stability of normative terms. i t is a striking fact that some important normative terms appear to refer to the same property stably, even given significant changes in speaker usage, and the environment in which speakers use them. For example, the prevailing pattern of application of the term 'ought' has shifted substantially over the last century, but this does not seem to signal a change in the term's referent. this is Contact: Billy Dunaway <

One-Person Moral Twin Earth Cases

“…Dunaway and McPherson () note the feature of the stabilizing function account and the causal theory that give them problems with Alien Nurse . They allow the environment too large a role in determining the content of moral concepts.…”

The Generalized Integration Challenge in Metaethics

“…Recently, a number of metaethicists have proposed reference magnetism (RM) as a potential solution to this sort of worry about determinacy and reference stability (van Roojen 2006;Dunaway and McPherson 2016;Williams Ms.). The idea is to follow David Lewis in supplementing an internal charity constraint with a purely external constraint on reference determination (Lewis 1983;1984).…”

The Methodological Implications of Reference Magnetism on Moral Twin Earth

“…If our usage of a moral term like "morally right" is causally regulated by, say, a deontological property (or bears the reference-determining relation, whatever that may be, to that property), while on Twin Earth, the usage by our twins of their orthographically identical term "morally right" is causally regulated by a distinct, consequentialist 703 REFERENCE MAGNETISM ON MORAL TWIN EARTH property, then, even if the term otherwise plays the same role in both of our communities' thought and discourse (in terms of action guidance, interpersonal criticism, and so forth), we don't mean the same thing, and our moral disputes will be verbal. In response to this challenge, several theorists (van Roojen 2006;Edwards 2013a;Dunaway and McPherson 2016) have recently deployed Lewis's (1983;1984) metasemantic doctrine of reference magnetism (the view that metaphysically elite properties are easier to refer to, ceteris paribus) as a solution. 1 According to this response, there is a moral "joint in nature" that secures shared reference for a moral term like "morally right," despite the difference in usage between ourselves and our twins on Moral Twin Earth, thus securing substantivity in our moral disputes (at the cost of a bit of controversial metaphysics).…”