Is–ought problem

High school (ages 12+)
Philosophy & Big Questions

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/is-ought-problem

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the originator of the problem?David Hume, in his 1739-1740 work 'A Treatise of Human Nature'
2. What is the is-ought problem?It is the idea that we cannot say what we should do just by looking at what is true, because facts alone do not give us moral rules.
3. Why did David Hume talk about the is-ought problem?He noticed that people often jump from saying what exists to saying what we should do, without a clear reason, and called this jump a big mistake.

Normative Statement: A statement that expresses a value judgment or prescribes how things should be.
Descriptive Statement: A statement that aims to describe facts or reality as it is.
Meta-ethics: The branch of philosophy that studies the nature, scope, and meaning of moral judgments.