Image courtesy of Lukas Göök / Pixabay
The conveyance of moral theories such as error theory are not commonly associated with the musical genres of hip-hop and rap. Yet, a particular form of error theory is readily found within the lyrics of rapper Kendrick Lamar.
“Error theory is commonly defined as the view that moral judgments are truth-evaluable but always false.” Or in other terms, one cannot ever be morally right but can only be morally wrong, “Moral reality is in some way defective.”
Error theory is typically lumped in with moral anti-realism or, “the doctrine that there are no objective moral values or normative facts.” However, this does not have to always be the case with error theory, which can be ethically objective when broken apart from moral anti-realism, into a standalone proposition holding all moral choices, actions, understandings, judgements, etc. are conclusively false plus wrong, “People systematically make the error of uttering claims that are not true.” Kendrick Lamar lyrics can be used to demonstrate this mode of error theory.
Lamar raps,
I'm a killer, he's a killer, she's a killer…We some killers…Eight billion people on Earth, silent murderers…The noble person that goes to work and pray like they 'posed to. Slaughter people too, your murder's just a bit slower.
These lines can be translated as literally everyone person is a committer of wrongdoings. Even those with the appearance of doing what is right are only committing wrongdoings of a different fashion. However, this explanation is too charitable compared to Lamar’s actual moral position. People are not just committers of wrongdoing but cannot help but commit wrongdoings in all their actions, “Damned if I do, if I don’t. Goddamn us all.” We are all damned, and damned by God for that matter, to commit nothing but wrongdoings no matter what we do. For Lamar all Earthly doings are wrongdoings. This leads to people committing a seemingly inexhaustible number of wrongs, “How many sins? I'm running out. How many sins? I lost count.”
Lamar raps, “I am a sinner. Who's probably gonna sin again…Lord forgive me. Things I don't understand” According to Lamar we sin because we do not understand how to actively not sin. But just because we are damned on Earth does not mean we are damned everywhere.
One of these other lives is in Heaven. It is only in Heaven where right doings can occur. Otherwise, in all other realms we are bound to standalone error theory. While outside of Heaven we can only fight and attempt to not do active wrong. However, this fight will always result in active losses while outside of Heaven. Yet, people are not stuck on Earth. For Lamar Heaven can be entered by people through the Lord’s forgiveness.
But if we can only do wrong while on Earth, how is one even capable of knowing that Heaven is where the good lies? Lamar states, “I know morality.” Despite our ignorance regarding action, people are internally knowledgeable about what is wrong and right. Proper moral knowledge is built into people, akin to a preprogrammed instinct, “Heaven or Hell, base it all on my instincts.” Yet, no matter our mental moral knowledge or mental accordance to proper moral knowledge, it does not nor cannot change our active wrongful state within Earthly affairs. It is the case for Lamar that, “The morality can wait,” and must always wait on Heaven to be fulfilled.
Lamar is one to readily state his own ignorance as he raps, “Until I realized I didn’’t know shit.” Lamar’s biggest ignorance is perhaps the very basis of his standalone error theory, that only wrong deeds can be committed while on Earth. Lamar also raps, “Done with the black and the white. The wrong and the right” With a rapper as complicated as Kendrick Lamar a variety of viewpoints and vantages can be extracted. Here I have spent my time contriving an error theory our of Lamar’s song only to be in possible error myself. Yet, this shows the depth of Lamar and the possible depth that can be explored in hip hop. Lamar shows us that hip hop can be a possible philosophical battleground. But before entering any philosophical battleground we should admit to ourselves that we are often in error and ignorance - and that it is through our errors and ignorance that theories arise!
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Dig Deeper:
Richard Joyce, “Moral Anti-Realism,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Stanford University, May 24, 2021)
Casey Knight, “Chapter 1: Mackie’s Error Theory,” in The Plausibility of Moral Error Theories (UMass Amherst, 2013), pp. 3-37
Lukas Gloor, “Moral Anti-Realism,” EA Forum, https://forum.efforg/s/ R8vKwpMtFQ9kDvkJQ
Kendrick Lamar, “Worldwide Steppers,” lyrics on Genius
Kendrick Lamar, “Element,” lyrics on Genius
Kendrick Lamar, “Sing About Me I’m Dying of Thirst,” lyrics on Genius
Kendrick Lamar, “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe,” lyrics on Genius
Kendrick Lamar, “Count Me Out,” lyrics on Genius
Kendrick Lamar, “Momma,” lyrics on Genius
Kendrick Lamar, “Poe Mans Dreams,” lyrics on Genius
Kendrick Lamar, “Rich Spirit,” lyrics on Genius
Kendrick Lamar, “N95,” lyrics on Genius
About Anthony David Vernon:
