Does Moral Philosophy Rest on a Mistake?

H. A. Prichard's influential 1912 article, "Does Moral Philosophy Rest on a Mistake?", asserts that the fundamental question "Why be moral?" is flawed. Prichard argued that attempts to justify morality, whether by linking it to personal advantage or the inherent goodness of an action, fundamentally miss the point. Instead, he proposed that our sense of duty is "absolutely underivative or immediate," meaning we directly apprehend what is right without requiring further argument or "non-moral thinking." To resolve doubts about obligations, one must confront a specific situation and appreciate the duty directly. Critiquing philosophers from Plato to Kant, Prichard, influenced by John Cook Wilson, believed that seeking an external proof for moral obligations constituted the core mistake upon which moral philosophy had traditionally rested.