Deontic Logic and the Priority of Moral Theory

Abstract

A search for impartiality has motivated a barrage of attacks on those versions of deontic logic that rule out the possibility of moral dilemmas-The criticism being that moral theory, Not deontic logic, Should settle the question of whether there are moral dilemmas. Recommending this search is the conviction that the aim of deontic logic is to represent the structure, Rather than the substance, Or our moral reasoning. Yet in adopting a deontic logic, I argue, We must choose between competing logics which accommodate competing conceptions of obligation; our choice will inevitably reflect substantive moral commitments. Thus (i maintain) there is simply no way to extricate deontic logic from the maelstrom of moral argumentation.

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