The Relation between Metaethics and Normative Ethics

It is usually assumed that normative ethics and metaethics are two distinct domains of moral theorizing. Normative ethics is seen as a systematic attempt to capture which actions are right and wrong and why, whereas metaethicists usually investigate the meaning of moral terms and the nature of moral judgments and properties. This chapter explores the ways in which the relation between these two domains of moral theorizing has been understood. It outlines both the arguments used to argue that these normative ethics and metaethics are independent one another and the arguments to the conclusion that they are intertwined areas of inquiry.