Explain why emotivism is a non-cognitivist theory of ethical language.

A non-cognitivist theory of ethical language is one that denies that ethical statements are propositions which express truth or falsity. Emotivism is the theory of ethical language that holds that ethical statements such as 'murder is wrong' are simply expressions of emotion or 'attitudes' towards something. An emotion cannot be 'true' in the sense that a proposition such as 'the dog is on the floor' or '2+2=4' can. The first can be shown to be true or false by the presence of a dog on the floor, and the second is a necessary truth, deducible from the fact that the conclusion follows necesarily from the premises. An emotion might be considered inappropriate in a given situation. For example if you do not show remorse for murdering someone. However under emotivism, that which makes the emotion inappropriate is how people usually react to murder, not the truth of the statement. Therefore emotivism is non-cognitivist.