Summary

How come we ought to do things? Why do some action alternatives come with a practical relevance – oughtness – and others don’t? Based on a detailed discussion of four different authors (Halbig, Schroeder, Stemmer, and Scanlon), this investigation develops a new desire-based theory of normativity: metaethical conativism. Roughly put, we ought to do things because we desire stuff and because doing these things helps to bring about that stuff.