What does noncognitivism mean?
Noncognitivism is a philosophical position that rejects a central claim made by cognitivism. In metaethics, its best-known form holds that moral judgements are not truth-apt: a statement such as “that action is wrong” does not express a belief about an objective moral fact but instead manifests an attitude, commitment, or prescription. This helps explain why moral disagreements may remain even when the disputants share relevant facts. In philosophy of mind, noncognitivism can instead mean that mental states are not fundamentally constituted by cognitive content or relations, allowing theories of consciousness to explain phenomenal experience without treating every mental phenomenon as a representation. The word belongs primarily to academic philosophical vocabulary rather than everyday speech. Its value lies in identifying a shared challenge to representational and proposition-based accounts of the mind, while its precise implications depend on the philosophical context in which it is used.
nounIn metaethics, the view that moral judgements are not truth-apt and do not express beliefs about moral facts. More broadly, it denotes opposition to cognitivism in philosophy of mind, especially the claim that mental states are fundamentally characterized by cognitive content.
- In metaethics, the position that moral judgements do not state propositions or express beliefs that can be true or false.
- In philosophy of mind, the view that mental states are not fundamentally characterized by cognitive content or relations.
- In theories of learning, an approach that minimizes explanations based on internal mental processes, often in association with behaviorist accounts.
"Moral noncognitivism treats judgements such as “X is wrong” as expressions of attitudes or commitments rather than statements of belief about objective moral facts."
"Her paper develops a form of moral noncognitivism on which ethical disagreement is explained through incompatible attitudes and practical commitments."
"Some noncognitivist theories of consciousness hold that phenomenal experience cannot be reduced entirely to representational cognitive processes."
The plural is grammatically standard but rare, as the term usually denotes a recognizable philosophical position rather than a frequently individuated doctrine.
"The book compares several competing noncognitivisms without treating them as merely alternative labels for one view."
Moral noncognitivism turns a familiar-looking moral statement into an expression of attitude rather than a report about the world.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does noncognitivism come from?
Noncognitivism is a modern formation combining the negative prefix non- with cognitivism. The cognit- element comes through English cognition from Latin cognoscere, meaning “to get to know,” whose past participle cognitus means “recognized” or “known.” Cognitivism developed as the name for views that characterize the mental in terms of cognitive attitudes or representational content, and noncognitivism names opposition to those views.
Related word forms
How noncognitivism is actually used
The term is primarily associated with philosophy. In metaethics it is usually distinguished from moral cognitivism; in philosophy of mind it may specifically denote theories that reject the claim that all mental states are fundamentally cognitive.
Easily confused with noncognitivism
Cognitivism holds that mental states involve cognitive attitudes such as beliefs, whereas noncognitivism denies that such attitudes are fundamental to at least some class of mental states.