How to Defend a Normative Ethical Theory

This article is a work of metaethics; it is on, but not in, normative ethics. My aim is to explain how one goes about defending a normative ethical theory. Specifically, it is to explain how one goes about providing (what I call) “a complete defense” of a normative ethical theory. A complete defense has five components, which I call “underpinning,” “undermining,” “countermining,” “attacking,” and “repelling.” I explain and illustrate each component, using the normative ethical theory of egoism as an example. I then discuss three important distinctions. The first is between ideal complete defenses and non-ideal (or real-world) complete defenses. The second is between complete defenses (whether ideal or non-ideal) and incomplete (or partial) defenses. The third is between successful defenses (whether complete or incomplete) and unsuccessful defenses.