RT Article
T1 Philippa Foot's So-called Achilles' Heel: On the Distinctiveness of Her Grammatical Naturalism
JF American catholic philosophical quarterly
VO 91
IS 2
SP 251
OP 271
A1 Jordan, Jessy
LA English
PB Philosophy Documentation Center
YR 2017
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1588249018
AB Philippa Foot's attempt in Natural Goodness to defend the claim that moral goodness is a form of species-specific natural goodness and that immorality is a natural defect has elicited a number of challenges. For instance, Scott Woodcock presents the following dilemma: Foot's account of natural normativity either yields morally objectionable results, or there exists an appeal to a normative standard not grounded in natural norms. I contend that the Footian Neo-Aristotelian approach possesses the resources necessary for an adequate answer to this dilemma. I argue that Foot's naturalism does wind up with a normative standard not grounded in empirically typical natural norms but that it is no Achilles' heel. To support this thesis, I contend that such a standard appears inappropriate only if one assumes Foot is endeavoring to justify or establish a substantive conception of human goodness and defect, something she is not attempting.
K1 Foot, Philippa
K1 Immorality
K1 NATURAL Goodness (Book)
K1 Naturalism
K1 Normativity (Ethics)
DO 10.5840/acpq201737113