Impassioned Belief

Michael Ridge's Impassioned Belief presents Ecumenical Expressivism, a unique theory of normative judgments that bridges beliefs and desires, challenging traditional metaethical views.

In Impassioned Belief, Michael Ridge introduces a groundbreaking expressivist theory of normative judgments known as Ecumenical Expressivism. This theory offers unique insights into significant issues within metaethics, semantics, and practical reasoning. Ridge posits that normative judgments are hybrid states, formed by a combination of ordinary beliefs and desire-like states. This innovative approach lays the groundwork for a deeper understanding of how we engage with normative discourse and the underlying principles that guide our reasoning.

Ridge's work builds upon a series of earlier articles, but Impassioned Belief expands on these ideas in several important ways. A key development is his sharper distinction between semantics and meta-semantics, positioning Ecumenical Expressivism within the meta-semantic realm. This distinction allows for a fully truth-conditional approach to first-order semantics, which is a significant advancement in the field. Additionally, Ridge introduces a contextualist semantic framework that challenges traditional presuppositions, demonstrating that a contextualist approach does not necessarily lead to cognitivism when the semantics/meta-semantics divide is carefully observed.

The book also explores the implications of this contextualist framework for practical reasoning, moving away from the 'ideal advisor' model to a focus on acceptable standards. This shift has far-reaching consequences for ongoing debates regarding the context-sensitivity of reasons and the nature of normative principles. Furthermore, Ridge develops a novel theory of normative propositions and addresses the complexities of truth and disagreement within the expressivist framework, making Impassioned Belief a vital contribution to contemporary philosophical discourse.