The Supposed “Inseparability” of Fact and Value.

Abstract

A wide variety of philosophers seem to agree that there is something dubious about the distinction between fact and value. This paper evaluates some of the arguments made for such a contention. It is argued that only the crudest form of pragmatism leads to a conflation of fact and value. Other arguments against the fact/value distinction, mostly drawn from Putnam\'s Reason, Truth and History, are examined in order to show that they are either false or trivial.

S. Afr. J. Philos. Vol.22(1) 2003: 51-62