The Trolley Problem and the Dropping of Atomic Bombs Masahiro Morioka*
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The Philosophical Quarterly, 2019
TH E N ORM ATIVE SIGNIFICANCE OF COGN ITIVE SCIEN CE R ECONSIDERED Dustin Locke Claremont McKenna College Forthcoming in The Philosophical Quarterly Draft of 8/22/19. Please cite only with permission. Abstract Josh Greene (2007) famously argued that his cognitive-scientific results undermine deontological moral theorizing. Greene is wrong about this: at best, his research has revealed that at least some characteristically deontological moral judgments are sensitive to factors that we deem morally irrelevant. This alone is not enough to undermine those judgments. However, cognitive science could someday tell us more: it could tell us that in forming those judgments, we treat certain factors as reasons to believe as we do. If we independently deem such factors to be morally irrelevant, such a result would undermine those judgments and any moral theorizing built upon them. This paper brings charity, clarity, and epistemological sophistication to debates surrounding empirical debunking arguments in ethics. W ord Count 9,935 1 1. INTRODUCTION Josh Greene (2007) famously attempts to empirically debunk deontological moral theorizing.1 Philosophers have been highly critical of Greene’s arguments. The most widely-cited critique by far is Selim Berker (2009).2 Berker proceeds by canvasing several arguments Greene might be offering, refuting each along the way. Berker thus presents us with a challenge: since these arguments are no good, is there a better argument from cognitive-scientific results to Greene’s moral-theoretic conclusion? Other critics present us with the same challenge.3 The present paper takes up this challenge. I spell out a plausible way in which cognitive- scientific results could undermine deontological moral theorizing. -
The Pandemic Doesn't Run on Trolley Tracks: a Comment on Eyal's Essay
Special Feature “Society after COVID-19” Sociologica. V.14 N.2 (2020) https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1971-8853/11412 ISSN 1971-8853 The Pandemic Doesn’t Run on Trolley Tracks: A Comment on Eyal’s Essay “Beware the Trolley Zealots” Cansu Canca* Submitted: July 26, 2020 – Accepted: July 27, 2020 – Published: September 18, 2020 Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic raises various ethical questions, one of which is the question of when and how countries should move from lockdown to reopening. In his paper “Be- ware the Trolley Zealots” (2020), Gil Eyal looks at this question, arguing against a trolley problem approach and utilitarian reasoning. In this commentary, I show that his position suffers from misunderstanding the proposed policies and the trolley problem and assert- ing moral conclusions without moral justifications. Keywords: Coronavirus; COVID-19; health policy; population-level bioethics; trolley problem; utilitarianism. Acknowledgements For their very helpful comments and feedback, I thank Elena Esposito, Laura Haaber Ihle, Holger Spamann, and David Stark. * AI Ethics Lab, Boston (United States); [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0121- 3094 Copyright © 2020 Cansu Canca Art. #11412 The text in this work is licensed under the Creative Commons BY License. p. 73 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ The Pandemic Doesn’t Run on Trolley Tracks Sociologica. V.14 N.2 (2020) 1 Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic forces policy makers around the world to make ethically loaded de- cisions about the lives and well-being of individuals. One such decision is often presented as a choice between “saving lives and saving the economy” (Bazelon, 2020). -
Consequentialism, Group Acts, and Trolleys
1 Consequentialism, Group Acts, and Trolleys Joseph Mendola Abstract: Multiple-Act Consequentialism specifies that one should only defect from a group act with good consequences if one can achieve better consequences by the defecting act alone than the entire group act achieves. It also holds that when different valuable group agents of which one is part specify roles which conflict, one should follow the role in the group act with more valuable consequences. This paper develops Multiple-Act Consequentialism as a solution to the Trolley Problem. Its relentless pursuit of the good provides act-consequentialism with one sort of intuitive ethical rationale. But more indirect forms of consequentialism promise more intuitive normative implications, for instance the evil of even beneficent murders. I favor a middle way which combines the intuitive rationale of act-consequentialism and the intuitive normative implications of the best indirect forms. Multiple-Act Consequentialism or ‘MAC’ requires direct consequentialist evaluation of the options of group agents. It holds that one should only defect from a group act with good consequences if one can achieve better consequences by the defecting act alone than the entire group act achieves, and that when different beneficent group acts of which one is part specify roles which conflict, one should follow the role in the group act with better consequences. This paper develops MAC as a solution to the Trolley Problem. Section 1 concerns the relative advantages of direct and indirect consequentialisms. Section 2 develops MAC by a focus on competing conceptions of group agency. Section 3 applies MAC to the Trolley Problem. -
Nine Inch Nails Pretty Hate Machine Free
FREE NINE INCH NAILS PRETTY HATE MACHINE PDF Daphne Carr | 144 pages | 03 May 2011 | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | 9780826427892 | English | London, United Kingdom Nine Inch Nails - Wikipedia The album consists of reworked tracks from the Purest Feeling demo tape, as well as songs composed after its original recording. The album, which features a heavily synth-driven electronic sound blended with industrial and rock elements, bears little resemblance to the band's subsequent work. Conversely, much like the band's later Nine Inch Nails Pretty Hate Machine, the album's lyrics contain themes of angst, betrayal, and lovesickness. The record was promoted with the singles " Down in It ", " Head Like a Hole ", and " Sin ", as well as the accompanying tour. A remastered edition was released in Although the record was successful, reaching No. Pretty Hate Machine was later certified triple-platinum by RIAAbecoming one of the first independently released albums to do so, and was included on several lists of the best releases of the s. During working nights as a handyman and engineer at the Right Track Studio in ClevelandOhioReznor used studio "down-time" to record and develop his own music. The sequencing was done on a Macintosh Plus. With the help of manager John Malm, Jr. Reznor received contract offers from many of the labels, but eventually signed with TVT Recordswho were known mainly for releasing novelty and television jingle records. Much like his recorded demo, Reznor refused to record the album with a conventional band, recording Pretty Hate Machine mostly by himself. I became completely withdrawn. I couldn't function in society very well. -
Acts of Identity: a Political Theory of Biography
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Acts of Identity: A Political Theory of Biography A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science by William Samuel Stahl 2018 Ó Copyright by William Samuel Stahl 2018 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Acts of Identity: A Political Theory of Biography by William Samuel Stahl Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science University of California, Los Angeles, 2018 Professor Joshua F. Dienstag, Chair My dissertation, Acts of Identity: A Political Theory of Biography, is prompted by the puzzle: why have so many political theorists shown interest in the genre of biography, seemingly such a private and apolitical genre? I answer that biography is a powerful lens through which to analyze the link between individual identity formation and political action. I develop this answer through four chapters that engage with a selection of political theorists who have written biographic works. In the first chapter, I examine Hannah Arendt’s claim that human beings are unlike other living things because each one of us develops a unique identity from the singularity of our biography. For her, who we are – and what makes us human – is what we say and do. In chapter two, I analyze Giorgio Agamben’s challenge to Arendt: he concludes that what makes us human is not what we say or do, but what we have the potential to do. This implies that our biography does not define who we are or make us human. I agree with the latter implication, but not the former. While the form of human life may not be biographic, individual identity is. -
Experimental Philosophy and Feminist Epistemology: Conflicts and Complements
City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 9-2018 Experimental Philosophy and Feminist Epistemology: Conflicts and Complements Amanda Huminski The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2826 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPHY AND FEMINIST EPISTEMOLOGY: CONFLICTS AND COMPLEMENTS by AMANDA HUMINSKI A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Philosophy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2018 © 2018 AMANDA HUMINSKI All Rights Reserved ii Experimental Philosophy and Feminist Epistemology: Conflicts and Complements By Amanda Huminski This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Philosophy in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. _______________________________ ________________________________________________ Date Linda Martín Alcoff Chair of Examining Committee _______________________________ ________________________________________________ Date Nickolas Pappas Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Jesse Prinz Miranda Fricker THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT Experimental Philosophy and Feminist Epistemology: Conflicts and Complements by Amanda Huminski Advisor: Jesse Prinz The recent turn toward experimental philosophy, particularly in ethics and epistemology, might appear to be supported by feminist epistemology, insofar as experimental philosophy signifies a break from the tradition of primarily white, middle-class men attempting to draw universal claims from within the limits of their own experience and research. -
The Moral Psychology of AI and the Ethical Opt-Out Problem
The Moral Psychology of AI and the Ethical Opt-Out Problem Jean-François Bonnefon1, Azim Shariff2, and Iyad Rahwan3,4 1Toulouse School of Economics (TSM-R), CNRS, Université Toulouse-1 Capitole, Toulouse, France 2Department of Psychology & Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, USA 3The Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA 02139, USA 4Institute for Data, Systems and Society, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA 02139, USA Abstract This chapter discusses the limits of normative ethics in new moral domains linked to the development of Artificial Intelligence. In these new domains, people have the possibility to opt out of using a machine, if they do not approve of the ethics that the machine is programmed to follow. In other words, even if normative ethics could determine the best moral programs, these programs would not be adopted (and thus have no positive impact) if they clashed with users’ preferences— a phenomenon that we label the “Ethical Opt-Out.” The chapter then explores various ways in which the field of moral psychology can illu- minate public perception of moral AI, and inform the regulations of such AI. The chapter’s main focus is on autonomous vehicles, but it also explores the role of psychological science for the study of other moral algorithms. 1 Introduction Most people are happy to use technology driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI), as long as they are not fully aware they are doing so. They enjoy music recommendations, email filters, and GPS advice without thinking too much about the machine learning algorithms that power these products. But 1 as people let AI-driven technology take an ever greater place in their lives, they also express anxiety and mistrust about things labeled AI. -
Sponsoring Committee: Professor Jennifer S. Tsien, Chairperson Professor Janet R
Sponsoring Committee: Professor Jennifer S. Tsien, Chairperson Professor Janet R. Horne Professor Stéphanie Bérard Professor Emily Ogden BEYOND “QUELQUES ARPENTS DE NEIGE : ” REPRESENTATION OF NEW FRANCE IN FRENCH TEXTS, 1703 TO 1780 Nathan D. Brown Department of French Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of French University of Virginia 2014 Copyright © 2014 Nathan D. Brown TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3 CHAPTER INTRODUCTION Abandoned Children on the Banks of the Saint Lawrence 5 CHAPTER 1 The Travel Narratives of Lahontan and Charlevoix: Imaging New France and 36 Naming its People CHAPTER 2 Sauvage foils or sauvage foibles ? : Fear of Degeneration and Hope for 88 Regeneration in New France CHAPTER 3 Utopian Visions and Dressing Across Borders : 136 The Discursive Role of New France in Alain-René Lesage's Beauchêne, Les Mariages de Canada, and La Sauvagesse CHAPTER 4 New France in the Discourse of Voltaire and Raynal : Cautionary Tales, 198 Sentimentality, Anglophilia. CONCLUSION Memories of New France : The New Becomes Old 249 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my gratitude to Jennifer Tsien, who encouraged me to embark on this project, for her continuing advice, support, and enthusiasm. I also wish to thank Janet Horne and Stéphanie Bérard both of whom provided useful guidance and whose courses influenced my thinking on this topic. I would also like to acknowledge and thank Emily Ogden for her thoughts on this project. Any remaining errors and malapropisms in these pages are, of course, entirely my own. Finally, my deepest thanks go to Elizabeth Brown whose encouragement and good humor kept this project enjoyable and on time. -
The Electrical Transformation of the Public Sphere: Home Video, the Family, and the Limits of Privacy in the Digital Age
THE ELECTRICAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE PUBLIC SPHERE: HOME VIDEO, THE FAMILY, AND THE LIMITS OF PRIVACY IN THE DIGITAL AGE By Adam Capitanio A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY American Studies 2012 ABSTRACT THE ELECTRICAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE PUBLIC SPHERE: HOME VIDEO, THE FAMILY, AND THE LIMITS OF PRIVACY IN THE DIGITAL AGE By Adam Capitanio One of the constituent features of the digital age has been the redrawing of the line between private and public. Millions of social media users willingly discuss intimate behavior and post private photographs and videos on the internet. Meanwhile, state and corporate bodies routinely violate individual privacy in the name of security and sophisticated marketing techniques. While these occurrences represent something new and different, they are unsurprising given the history of home and amateur media. In this dissertation, I argue that contemporary shifts in the nature of the public/private divide have historical roots in the aesthetics and style found in home movies and videos. In other words, long before Facebook and YouTube enabled users to publicly document their private lives, home movies and videos generated patterns of representation that were already shifting the unstable constitution of the “private” and the “public” spheres. Using critical theory and archival research, I demonstrate how home moviemakers represented their families and experiences in communal and liminal spaces, expanding the meaning of “home.” When video become the predominant medium for domestic usage, home mode artifacts became imbricated with television, granting them a form of phantasmagoric publicity that found fulfillment in the digital era. -
Ecce Distentio Est Uita Mea: St
Ecce Distentio est Uita Mea: St. Augustine’s philosophy of time in and beyond Confessions XI By Rachel Sanderoff Submitted to The Central European University Department of Philosophy In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in Philosophy. Supervisor: Professor Matthias Riedl Second Reader: Professor István Bodnár CEU eTD Collection Budapest, Hungary 2017 Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3 Part I. Interpretive Approaches to Confessions Book XI ................................................................ 7 The Narrow Definition of Time .............................................................................................................. 7 Time and Eternity: The Theological Dimensions ............................................................................... 10 Time and Eternity: “Ascent” .................................................................................................................. 17 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 27 Part II. Time and Eternity in Confessions I-IX ................................................................................ 30 Introduction: Time, Eternity and Augustine’s Rhetoric ..................................................................... 30 Distentio Animi in the ‘Autobiography’ .............................................................................................. -
And Critical Realism: the Role of Contradiction in Social Movement Activism 241
Durham E-Theses Against Morality: A Critical Realist Examination of a History of Western Sexual Normativity. An Appeal for Emancipation and Explanation through Emergentist Social Science BROCK, THOMAS,GEORGE,JAMES How to cite: BROCK, THOMAS,GEORGE,JAMES (2012) Against Morality: A Critical Realist Examination of a History of Western Sexual Normativity. An Appeal for Emancipation and Explanation through Emergentist Social Science, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/3430/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 1 Abstract A model of reality derived from critical realism and historical sociology provides a sufficient account of Christian sexual morality and shows that powerful human agents are responsible for the normative regulation of non-procreative forms of sexual activity in the West. If we are to understand the sui generis powers of human agents, sociology must engage with a model of reality which adequately conceptualises an entwining synchronic and diachronic realm. -
ETHICS and INTUITIONS in One of His Many Fine Essays, Jim Rachels
PETER SINGER ETHICS AND INTUITIONS (Received 25 January 2005; accepted 26 January 2005) ABSTRACT. For millennia, philosophers have speculated about the origins of ethics. Recent research in evolutionary psychology and the neurosciences has shed light on that question. But this research also has normative significance. A standard way of arguing against a normative ethical theory is to show that in some circum- stances the theory leads to judgments that are contrary to our common moral intuitions. If, however, these moral intuitions are the biological residue of our evo- lutionary history, it is not clear why we should regard them as having any normative force. Research in the neurosciences should therefore lead us to reconsider the role of intuitions in normative ethics. KEY WORDS: brain imaging, David Hume, ethics, evolutionary psychology, Henry Sidgwick, Immanuel Kant, intuitions, James Rachels, John Rawls, Jonathan Haidt, Joshua D. Greene, neuroscience, trolley problem, utilitarianism 1. INTRODUCTION In one of his many fine essays, Jim Rachels criticized philosophers who ‘‘shoot from the hip.’’ As he put it: The telephone rings, and a reporter rattles off a few ‘‘facts’’ about something somebody is supposed to have done. Ethical issues are involved – something alarming is said to have taken place – and so the ‘‘ethicist’’ is asked for a com- ment to be included in the next day’s story, which may be the first report the public will have seen about the events in question.1 In these circumstances, Rachels noted, the reporters want a short pithy quote, preferably one that says that the events described are bad. The philosopher makes a snap judgment, and the result is 1 James Rachels, ‘‘When Philosophers Shoot from the Hip,’’ in Helga Kuhse and Peter Singer (eds.), Bioethics: An Anthology (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1999), p.