Final answer:
Expressivism is a metaethical theory that sees moral statements as expressions of attitude, while ethical subjectivism views them as reflections of individual beliefs, with truth values relative to those beliefs.
Step-by-step explanation:
Expressivism is a metaethical theory that posits that moral statements do not function to describe aspects of the world but rather to express the speaker's attitudes or feelings towards a particular action or state of affairs. Expressivists see ethical language as a form of non-cognitive expression, similar to exclamations or commands. An example of expressivism would be interpreting the statement “Lying is wrong” not as a factual claim about lying, but as an expression of disapproval towards lying.
Ethical subjectivism, on the other hand, holds that moral opinions are subjective and that they reflect the personal tastes or beliefs of an individual. Unlike expressivism, ethical subjectivism can accept that moral statements have truth values, but these are relative to the beliefs and feelings of individuals. For instance, when someone says, “Cheating is bad,” ethical subjectivism would interpret this claim as true if the person making the statement believes cheating to be bad.
The main difference between expressivism and ethical subjectivism lies in the status of moral statements. Expressivism denies that moral statements attempt to report facts and that they are not truth-apt, i.e., they cannot be true or false. Ethical subjectivism allows moral statements to be about the preferences of individuals and therefore can be true or false, but only relative to those individual's beliefs and feelings.