ABSTRACT

In this chapter, I outline some of G.W.F. Hegel’s basic metaethical views about the ontological status of morality and discuss how Hegel’s metaethical thought fits (or rather: does not fit) into the framework of contemporary metaethics. More specifically, I claim that Hegel’s Philosophy of Right offers a critique of both moral antirealism and moral realism, thereby challenging the standard way in which the debate in contemporary moral ontology is set up. I also contrast Hegel’s position with constructivist views about the ontological status of morality. I argue that Hegel holds a non-constructivist metaethical position even though he believes that moral reality is not entirely independent from subjectivity.