caa a22 4500 469052058 CHVBK 20180323132833.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170328e19921001xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/BF00138918 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/BF00138918 The issue of generality in ethics [Elektronische Daten] [Wim Van Der Steen, Bert Musschenga] Conclusion: Does ethics have adequate general theories? Our analysis shows that this question does not have a straightforward answer since the key terms are ambiguous. So we should not concentrate on the answer but on the question itself. "Ethics” stands for many things, but we let that pass. "Adequate” may refer to varied arrays of methodological principles which are seldom fully articulated in ethics. "General” is a notion with at least three meanings. Different kinds of generality may be at cross-purposes, so we must not expect theories to be general in sundry senses. "Theory,” for that matter, is itself ambiguous. Some thinkers say that ethics cannot have theories, while others deny it. We doubt whether opposing parties are talking about the same things. No wonder, then, that controversies in ethics are long-lasting and unproductive. We hope that the methodology we have presented will alleviate some of them. The examples we chose show that this is feasible. Views such as Hare's and Jonsen and Toulmin's which are seemingly wide apart, show convergence if we put them in a methodological perspective. Our analysis also suggests that many alleged differences between science and ethics could fade away if methodology is brought to bear on them. Specifically, the idea that ethics compares poorly with science in view of limited generality, or poor means of justification, is unfounded. Those who defend this view over-rate the powers of science. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1992 Van Der Steen Wim Faculty of Biology, Free University, De Boelelaan 1087, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands aut Musschenga Bert Faculty of Philosophy, Free University, De Boelelaan 1115, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands aut The Journal of Value Inquiry Kluwer Academic Publishers 26/4(1992-10-01), 511-524 0022-5363 26:4<511 1992 26 10790 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00138918 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00138918 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Van Der Steen Wim Faculty of Biology, Free University, De Boelelaan 1087, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Musschenga Bert Faculty of Philosophy, Free University, De Boelelaan 1115, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- The Journal of Value Inquiry Kluwer Academic Publishers 26/4(1992-10-01), 511-524 0022-5363 26:4<511 1992 26 10790 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer