A.J. Ayer in “Critique of Ethics” argues that moral judgments are not objective. He denies that they are even propositions at all. So for Ayer, when we say Fornication is wrong it is meaningless because there is no way to verify its truth or falsity. Ayer argues that moral judgments are simply expressions of disapproval and disgust. Saying Fornication is wrong is the same as saying Stop sexing or Eeww, unmarried sex is gross!. These types of phrases are not verifiable just as Go to the store is neither true or false and Wow! is neither true or false.
This type of emotivism came to mind as I watched Psychologist David Pizarro’s Ted Presentation on “How Disgust Shapes our Thoughts on Moral Wrong & the Political Right”. In the video he presents results from studies that show that the more sensitive we are to disgust, the more conservative we are in our moral and political ideas. The less sensitive we are to disgust, the moral liberal we are in our moral and political views. I tend to be more liberal and truth be told, nothing really grosses me out. Perhaps there really is a correlation.
The results connect with emotivist like Ayer in that it shows that morality and our approach to it may not be the result of our intellectual awareness or rebellion of objective morality. Instead, our moral and political views may just be a vehicle in which we express our “disgust sensitivities”.