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The Is / Ought Problem

Updated Thursday, 20th November 2014
Our animation explores the is/ought problem.

This page was published over 7 years ago. Please be aware that due to the passage of time, the information provided on this page may be out of date or otherwise inaccurate, and any views or opinions expressed may no longer be relevant. Some technical elements such as audio-visual and interactive media may no longer work. For more detail, see our Archive and Deletion Policy.

Do you draw conclusions from how things are to think about how things should be? There might be a gap in your reasoning - this is the is/ought problem:

The concepts

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General philosophising

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