Meta-ethics
The philosophical study of morality's nature: What does 'good' mean? Do moral facts exist objectively? Are moral judgments true or false? Meta-ethics addresses the foundations of ethics, not which actions are right but whether moral language refers to objective realities. Major positions include naturalism, intuitionism, emotivism, and prescriptivism.
Real World
When philosophers debated whether Peter Singer's utilitarian claim that we must donate to reduce global poverty is objectively true or merely a strong preference, they were doing meta-ethics — asking not whether Singer is right, but what kind of claim he is making.
Exam Focus
Open with a clear definition distinguishing meta-ethics from normative ethics — examiners reward precision here and penalise conflation of the two levels.
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