noun
- the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, meaning, and foundations of ethical concepts and moral judgments
Usage: philosophy; academic
Examples
- The professor’s course on metaethics explored whether moral statements can be objectively true or false.
- Metaethics asks fundamental questions about the nature of good and evil.
- Students studying metaethics examine how we can know what is morally right.
- The debate in metaethics centers on whether moral facts exist independently of human beliefs.
- Her dissertation focused on metaethics and the problem of moral disagreement.
- Metaethics differs from normative ethics by studying the meaning of moral language itself.