Recently, we noted a philosophy prize for an essay on “Materialism, Non-materialism and Immaterialism” (here, October 1), from Britian’s Royal Institute of Philosophy. There’s also the Res Philosophica (journal) essay prize of $3,000 plus publication, deadline April 1, 2014, up to 12,000 wds (includes footnotes).
Topic: Moral Nonnaturalism:
The recent history of moral nonnaturalism has been both tumultuous and unpredictable. In the early 20th century, thanks to the work of philosophers such as G. E. Moore and W. D. Ross, nonnaturalism was arguably the dominant metaethical position in Anglo-American philosophy. By mid-century, however, the view had fallen into disfavor, eclipsed by various versions of expressivism and moral naturalism. Indeed, by century’s end, most philosophers had given up nonnaturalism for dead. The view seemed to be of historical interest only.
Few, then, could have predicted that nonnaturalism would receive fresh and vigorous defenses in the early 21st century. Philosophers such as Russ Shafer-Landau, Ralph Wedgwood, David Enoch, and David Parfit each offered book-length defenses of the view, developing the case that moral nonnaturalism is a far more resilient, resourceful, and plausible position than most had assumed.
While nonnaturalism is now, once again, a view that philosophers take very seriously, challenges remain. Some of these challenges concern the view’s ontological commitments: How ought we to understand what a nonnatural property (or fact) is? … More.
As with so many items that whistle through here these days, the fact that this is happening is a story in itself. Maybe a book of essays will result.