Can we Solve the Frege-Geach Problem by Turning Expressivism on its Head?

Abstract

According to proponents of the notorious “Frege-Geach-Problem”, Metaethical Expressivists cannot account for the compositionality of moral thought and language. Recently, Seth Yalcin has provided extensive discussion of the problem, and he proposes a possible solution. I will discuss his solution and its respective shortcomings. I will also argue that one can remedy these shortcomings by turning Expressivism on its head, i.e. making the contents of mental states dependent on the meaning of the assertions expressing them. While unconventional, this strategy will prove to be in line with recent “anti-expressivist” developments in the expressivist literature.