Hypothetical Justifications

Abstract

A basic conviction in moral non-cognitivism is: only hypothetical norms may be justified. Hartmut Kliemt argues for a moderate variant: there are only hypothetical justifications of norms whether the norms are hypothetical or categorical in kind. In this paper the concept of `hypothetical justification' is analyzed. It is argued that hypothetical justifications are not of the kind that we should look for in normative ethics.