We naturally want our moral systems to rest on a solid and secure foundation. Yet, the moment we try to ground our values in the natural world, we run into logical barriers that threaten to collapse the entire structure.

In this episode, we explore the core challenges of building an ethical system, focusing on the fact-value gap and the problem of free will. We examine how David Hume challenged the transition from descriptive statements to prescriptive duties, and why G.E. Moore believed that "good" is an indefinable property. We also look at the historical and scientific concepts of determinism and how they conflict with the ethical necessity of personal control.

• Ethical foundationalists look for undeniable first principles similar to the laws of logic.
• Standard logic dictates that a moral conclusion must have at least o ...