David Sobel, Syracuse University

"The Rejection of Normative Stance Independence"
What we believe or desire does not determine the way things are. Our attitudes do not fundamentally shape reality. Our "stance" towards the world does not alter it so as to match up with our stance. Or at least that seems clear when it comes to descriptive matters. Are things different in the normative realm? A surprising number of leading philosophers maintain that things are not different when we turn to normative matters. I will be arguing that they are mistaken.