R. M. Hare

Richard Mervyn Hare (1919–2002) was a British moral philosopher who developed universal prescriptivism, an account of moral language and reasoning, and influenced preference utilitarianism.

Prescriptivism: A metaethical theory holding that moral judgments prescribe actions rather than merely describe facts. Hare developed its universal form to explain the logic of moral judgments.
The Language of Morals: Hare’s 1952 book arguing that moral judgments are prescriptive and subject to logical constraints. It presents the early account of moral language that launched his metaethical project.
Jeremy Bentham: An English philosopher who founded classical utilitarianism and assessed actions by their consequences for happiness. Bentham’s utilitarian tradition provides a historical precursor to Hare’s consequentialist ethics.
Emotivism: A metaethical view that treats moral statements primarily as expressions of approval or disapproval. Hare rejected reducing moral judgments to emotion, emphasizing their prescriptive and logical roles.
Universalizability: The principle that a moral judgment must apply consistently to all relevantly similar cases. For Hare, moral prescriptions must be universalizable, constraining what one can prescribe.
Moral Thinking: Hare’s 1981 account of critical and intuitive levels of moral thought. It explains how universal prescriptions can guide choices in complex cases.
John Stuart Mill: A British philosopher who developed utilitarian ethics and defended individual liberty. Mill’s consequentialism is a major reference point for Hare’s ethical theory.
Moral realism: The view that moral claims can be true or false independently of anyone’s attitudes. Hare’s non-descriptive account differs from theories that treat moral judgments as reporting facts.
Metaethics: The philosophical study of the meaning, status, and justification of moral judgments. Hare’s account addresses what moral claims mean, not just which actions are right.
Role reversal: A method of testing a judgment by imagining oneself in the position of those affected by it. Hare used role reversal to make universalizability concrete in moral deliberation.

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A. J. AyerRelated: Hare became Ayer’s prominent interlocutor over the meaning and function of moral judgments.