Principia Ethica was influential, with Moore's arguments being considered ground-breaking advances in the field of moral philosophy.

[11] Moore proposes a thought experiment, the "method of isolation", as a test to determine whether something has intrinsic value.

[15][16][17] The test is meant to remove any considerations of the thing being good as a means by isolating the intrinsic values.

Because of this, Moore suggests that the definition of duty is limited to what generally produces better results than probable alternatives in a comparatively near future.

[19] As the reference to causal means suggests, a detailed empirical investigation into the consequences of actions is necessary to determine what our duties are, it is not accessible to self-evident intuitive insight.

[13][22] Clive Bell considered that through his opposition to Spencer and Mill, Moore had freed his generation from utilitarianism.

[23] Principia Ethica was the bible of the Bloomsbury Group,[23][24] and the philosophical foundation of their aesthetic values.

[27] Moore's ethical intuitionism has been seen as opening the road for noncognitive views of morality, such as emotivism.

[29] Moore's views have also been compared to those of Franz Brentano, Max Scheler, and Nicolai Hartmann.

[20] Principia Ethica has been seen by Geoffrey Warnock as less impressive and durable than Moore's contributions in fields outside ethics.