An inquiry into the character of ethical statements and their verification and justification

Abstract

Meta-ethics aims at considering questions and problems of fundamental importance to ethics as a science. A central aspect of meta-ethics deals with the character of ethical statements. Are they capable of verification? This is the question examined by this paper. Many differing answers have been proposed to the question but where many answers falter is in their neglect to give attention to the truly scientific nature of ethics. It is proposed that the approach of W. Pannenberg is to be followed whereby ethics must be viewed in a scientific way. Christian ethical thinking must take the results in other branches of science and make use of them, applying them to Christianity and theology as the science of God. The views of Karl Popper on the notion of a hypothesis are seen to offer possibilities for attaining the scientific character of ethical statements.