Morals, Metaphysics and Naturalism

Some moral theorists ground our moral obligations in their favoured overarching metaphysical scheme. The downside with such an approach is that we are asked to buy into their metaphysics before we can accept genuine obligations. That leaves the rest of us who accept a different metaphysical scheme or no metaphysical theory at all with no good reason to avoid torturing babies. In this essay, Leslie Allan argues for a more down-to-earth approach that leaves aside controversial metaphysical disputes to base morality in that which we all have in common.