The is/ought gap

The is/ought gap is the observation in philosophy that facts are separate from values. Demonstrations of the gap take this form:

• A hornet’s nest exists. Should I remove it?
• A car is parked in my driveway. Should I drive it?
• My child is sick. Should I administer medicine?

In these particular examples, the facts remain separate from the values lurking in the questions posed, which presuppose that a hornet’s should be removed, that a car should be driven, or that a sick child should receive medicine. Of course, most people will want to take these actions, and for good reason. A hornet’s nest might pose a threat, a car was designed to be driven, a sick child won’t recover without medicine, etc. The facts of the world certainly interact with and inform human decision making. But there is nothing inherent in facts themselves that necessitate values. Put another way, the value of living in a world free from hornet’s nests does not exist in nature alongside the hornet’s nest. The value is imposed on the nest by subjective human desires about the way the world should be. That values vary in time and place throughout the diverse societies of the world is a testament to the is/ought gap.

The is/ought gap is important in metaethics, as some moral systems attempt to deny or circumvent the boundary. Some moral objectivists invoke a supernatural being to universalize their values, whilst moral realists collapse the boundary by attempting to show that at least some values are embedded in facts.

Claim

Statement of the claim	The is/ought gap
Level of certainty	Proven
Nature	Factual/ethical
Counterclaim	Denial of the is/ought gap
Dependent on
Dependency of