ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an introduction to moral realism and the real, followed by a thought experiment. It is followed by a short discussion and then a series of questions. Moral realists think that when people make moral judgements they are making claims which can be true or false; that what make them true are moral properties and that these moral properties are real. The thought experiment presents a case where some friends are out for a walk and as they come round a corner, they see a group of young people laughing and shouting. As they get closer they can see the group have a cat pinned to the ground and have just set fire to its fur. The questions are intended to get the philosophy students thinking about these problems. The chapter also gives a cursory sketch of some of the ways in which philosophers have responded to the thought experiment.
