The Open Question Argument
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Effective Altruism's Underspecification Problem
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by PhilPapers Effective Altruism’s Underspecification Problem Travis Timmerman 1. Introduction Whether any given act is supererogatory, obligatory, merely permissible, or impermissible depends upon the alternative acts available to the agent. But what exactly are the relevant alternative acts available to an agent? It turns out that this is a surprisingly difficult question to answer, yet it’s one on which any complete normative ethical theory must take a stance. It’s also one on which any effective altruist must take a stance. This may be unwelcome news for effective altruists since, as I will demonstrate, each of the dominant views in the literature generates verdicts that are (i) implausible in their own right and (ii) seemingly at odds with typical effective altruist commitments. Considering a particular case will help make this issue less abstract: The Gig Brandi has been invited by her friend, Chad, to attend his musical gig. Brandi can easily decide to attend the gig, and then decide at the gig to be supportive of Chad, which would be the best outcome. Unfortunately, Chad is a mediocre musician. Consequently, Brandi would not in fact decide to be supportive of Chad if she decided to attend his gig due to being irritated with Chad’s performance—even though she could decide at the gig to be supportive. Since Chad would be deeply hurt, this would be the worst outcome. Brandi could alternatively decide not to attend Chad’s gig, which would be better than the worst outcome, yet worse than the best outcome.1 To be sure, Brandi can decide to attend the gig, and once, there she can decide to be supportive of Chad. -
The Profoundest Problem of Ethics: About the Possibility of a Profound Solution
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School April 2019 The rP ofoundest Problem of Ethics: About the Possibility of a Profound Solution Pol Pardini Gispert [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Pardini Gispert, Pol, "The rP ofoundest Problem of Ethics: About the Possibility of a Profound Solution" (2019). LSU Master's Theses. 4915. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/4915 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE PROFOUNDEST PROBLEM OF ETHICS: ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF A PROFOUND SOLUTION A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in The Department of Philosophy & Religious Studies by Pol Pardini Gispert B.A., Universitat de Girona, 2001 May 2019 For my mother and father, For as many books as I read, your actions are still my moral compass. ii Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... iv Preface ............................................................................................................................................ -
1 from Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy to the Four Defining Characteristics of Self-Transcendence (ST) Paul T. P. Wong Introductio
1 From Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy to the Four Defining Characteristics of Self-Transcendence (ST) Paul T. P. Wong Introduction The present paper continues my earlier presentation on self-transcendence (ST) as a pathway to meaning, virtue, and happiness (Wong, 2016), in which I introduced Viktor Frankl’s (1985) two-factor theory of ST. Here, the same topic of ST is expanded by first providing the basic assumptions of logotherapy, then arguing the need for objective standards for meaning, and finally elaborating the defining characteristics of ST. To begin, here is a common-sense observation—no one can remain at the same spot for life for a variety of reasons, such as developmental and environmental changes, but most importantly because people dream of a better life and want to move to a preferred destination where they can find happiness and fulfillment. As a psychologist, I am interested in finding out (a) which destination people choose and (b) how they plan to get there successfully. In a free society that offers many opportunities for individuals, there are almost endless options regarding both (a) and (b). The reality is that not all purposes in life are equal. Some life goals are misguided, such as wanting to get rich by any means, including unethical and illegal ones, because ultimately, such choices could be self-defeating—these end values might not only fail to fill their hearts with happiness, but might also ruin their relationships and careers. The question, then, is: What kind of choices will have the greatest likelihood of resulting in a good life that not only benefits the individual but also society? My research has led me to hypothesize that the path of ST is most likely to result in such a good life. -
Literature Review
Norms and Reasons Benjamin Sorgiovanni B.A. (Hons) Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts University of Melbourne September 2009 Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Masters (by research) (by Coursework and Shorter Thesis) Abstract The concept of normativity is currently enjoying a period in philosophical vogue; it is at the centre of contemporary debates in fields as diverse as ethics and epistemology. Despite its popularity, the question of how we might best understand normativity remains a disputed one. Generally speaking, philosophers have favoured an intellectualist interpretation. It is typically assumed, for instance, that our engaging our higher-order capacities, our capacities for judgment, deliberation and reasoning, constitutes a necessary condition for our being sensitive to normative phenomena. Recently, however, an increasing number of philosophers have made the case for our favouring an anti-intellectualist interpretation, on the grounds, for example, that intellectualist frameworks are overly restrictive. In this study I assess these two competing accounts of normativity at the level of their respective positions regarding the connection between guidance by norms and guidance by reasons. Typically, intellectualists hold that if a norm is to guide action such that that action is also guided by reasons it is necessary that it be a norm which has some clear association with judgment and deliberation. Anti-intellectualists typically disagree; they are not inclined to see a norm's being disconnected from judgment and deliberation as decisive against that norm's guiding action which is also guided by reasons. In the first chapter I present Allan Gibbard's intellectualist analysis of the connection between guidance by norms and guidance by reasons. -
Virtue Ethics in This Paper, I Am Going to Discuss the Common Objection To
Virtue Ethics In this paper, I am going to discuss the common objection to virtue ethics that William Frankena and other moral theorists have posed: virtue ethics cannot tell us how we ought to act (i.e. that it is not a normative theory). In doing this I will discuss how Rosalind Hursthouse successfully defends virtue ethics against this charge and makes it more appealing than both deontological ethics and utilitarian ethics. I will then argue that Hursthouse’s defense shows that deontology ethics better serves as a heuristic for virtue ethics, than its own ethical theory. I will finish the paper by arguing Hursthouse’s defense of normative virtue ethics reveals a counterintuitive conclusion, but one that I am willing to accept in favor of the moral framework. In William Frankena’s “A Critique of Virtue-Based Ethics” Frankena brings up the common criticism that a virtue ethics theory cannot tell us how to act, but instead gives us a way to cultivate and teach ourselves and others the existing moral principles we should hold. He does believe virtues have a valuable role to play in “moral education and development,” but ultimately believes they do not serve the purpose of providing us with a direction when we are faced with a moral dilemma (Frankena p. 353). He writes, “the function of the virtues in an ethics of duty is not to tell us what to do but to ensure that we will do it willingly in whatever situations we may face” (Frankena p. 353). He argues that because we have to appeal to existing principles defined by different ethical theories such as trait egoism, trait utilitarianism, trait deontological theory, ect, virtue ethics is just an extension of these theories (Frankena p. -
Schmoozy Introduction Peter Railton University of Michigan Introduction If Practical Reason Is Concerned with Thoughtful Normati
Schmoozy Introduction Peter Railton University of Michigan Introduction If practical reason is concerned with thoughtful normative regulation of action, then theoretical reason might be seen as a matter of thoughtful normative regulation of belief. The conclusion of a piece of practical reasoning, we are told, is an act or intention to act; the conclusion of a piece of theoretical reasoning, by parallel, would be a belief or a belief-tendency. Because theoretical reason is understood to be responsive specifically to epistemic – not merely pragmatic – reasons for belief, the norms involved in theoretical reason are norms pertinent to knowledge, including norms of evidence, justification, and truth. In both the practical and theoretical case we need not exactly agree with the conclusion another person reaches in order to attribute rationality to her – but it seems we do need to find something normatively appropriate about the means by which the other reaches her conclusion, given her capacities and circumstances. A somewhat fancier way of putting this: we need to see her as responding to the relevant sort of reasons in an apt way. Moral philosophers have long found practical reason puzzling “by its very nature”. Practical rationality would appear to call for a kind of reasoning unknown to orthodox logic – a process Aristotle called “appetitive intellect or intellectual appetition”, of which Athe final step is the starting-point of action”. Appetite, as Aristotle would put it, belongs to the alogon part of the soul – but how then can we be intellectual about it, or deliberate with it, since intellect and deliberation belong to logos? Aristotle says that “Moral Science may be of great value to those who guide their desires and actions by principle (kata logon)” ( NE 1095a16). -
Justifying Reasons, Motivating Reasons, and Agent Relativism in Ethics
p. 1 Justifying Reasons, Motivating Reasons, and Agent Relativism in Ethics JOHN J. TILLEY INDIANA UNIVERSITY–PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS [email protected] From: Philosophical Studies 118(3) (2004): 373–99. Please cite the published version. ABSTRACT. According to agent relativism, each person’s moral requirements are relative to her desires or interests. That is, whether a person morally ought to φ depends on what interests or desires she has. Some philosophers charge that the main argument for agent relativism trades on an ambiguity—specifically, an ambiguity in “reason,” “reason for action,” or a kindred term. This charge has been common, and widely thought to damage the case for agent relativism, since its appearance, in 1958, in a now classic paper by William Frankena. In what follows I examine the charge in detail, showing that insofar as it aims to discredit the argument for agent relativism, it fails in its purpose. Agent relativism is the view that each person’s moral requirements are relative to her desires or interests. Unless an action is suitably related to those desires or interests she has no moral requirement to perform that action.1 My concern is with the principal argument for this view, specifically with a frequent objection to it. According to that objection, the argument for agent relativism trades on an ambiguity in “reason,” “reason for action,” or a similar term. This objection has been prevalent since its appearance, in 1958, in a now classic paper by William Frankena.2 Strangely, although one or two authors 1 This, at least, is one of the views that go under the name “agent relativism.” I have used that name for a very different view in some of my other papers, e.g., in “Cultural Relativism,” Human Rights Quarterly 22(2) (2000): 501–47, at 506. -
PHIL-100: Metaethics
$ÜÕ!$ÜuÕ{ nTwÜ!MTu ü-Tv-ÏÊ-}ª: MeTaeThics Summer z§Ë@ — u{!: ˧: þam-Ëz:Ëþpm — WhiTe-Gravenor § Clark Donley — [email protected] !*u Mvv*CnM — MnC\Üu uÕ -*$Ü Ï Õn!MÜ ÜM!TüuTÕ Are There moral TruThs? If so, are They universal or relaTive? Is moraliTy merely an expression of, for example, our emoTions? Is God necessary for moraliTy? Can we undersTand and explain moraliTy from a purely scienTiûc or naTuralisTic poinT of view?Some of The mosT gripping quesTions in life are abouT The naTure and sTaTus of moraliTy itself. In conTemporary philosophy, These quesTions are cenTral To a ûeld known as “meTaeThics.” MeTaeThics aims To undersTand and To explain The naTure and grounds of moraliTy, moral discourse, and moral pracTice. In This course, sTudents will learn how To Think philosophically abouT meTaeThical quesTions and The answers conTemporary philosophers (such as ChrisTine Korsgaard, David Enoch, Sharon STreeT, JL Mackie, and oThers) have proposed To Them. Work for The course will include regular homework (such as shorT reading responses of Ë-z pages), a midTerm exam, a ûnal exam, and acTive parTicipaTion. No prior knowledge of meTaeThics is required. } uÜuM • _e companion TexT for This course is Andrew Fisher, MeTaeThics:An InTroducTion (Durham, UK: Acumen, z§ËË). IT provides a clear inTroducTion To conTemporary meTaeThics. •All oTher Texts will be made available elecTronically. Ë k !ÜnT!ÜÜuM * *MMÜMMÜu STudents will be assessed on The basis of The following (subjecTTo revision): ITem PercenTage MidTerm Exam z§% Final Exam z§% ParTicipaTion z§% Response Papers and Homework §% Exams. Exams will assess boTh conTenT knowledge and The philosophical skills TaughT in The course. -
The Political Obligation of a Citizen
Case Western Reserve Law Review Volume 52 Issue 3 Article 3 2002 Ethics in the Shadow of the Law: The Political Obligation of a Citizen Robert P. Lawry Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/caselrev Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Robert P. Lawry, Ethics in the Shadow of the Law: The Political Obligation of a Citizen, 52 Case W. Rsrv. L. Rev. 655 (2002) Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/caselrev/vol52/iss3/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Journals at Case Western Reserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Case Western Reserve Law Review by an authorized administrator of Case Western Reserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons. ARTICLE ETHICS IN THE SHADOW OF THE LAW: THE POLITICAL OBLIGATION OF A CITIZEN Robert P. Lawr9 INTRODUCTION This article is a series of meditations on texts. The focus is on the moral quandry a citizen faces when confronted with what he or she perceives to be an unjust or immoral law or policy, emanating from the State in which that citizen has membership. As such, it is a con- tribution to the rich literature of political obligation. It joins the long debate in jurisprudence and political and legal theory over the citi- zen's "obligation to obey the law," or "fidelity to law."1 It joins that debate obliquely, however, not by trying to argue philosophically for one particular theory of political obligation, but by reflecting on inter- esting and historically important texts in that literature. -
Virtue Ethics
Business Ethics Queens College Russell Marcus http://philosophy.thatmarcusfamily.org Reading Guide #7: Virtue Ethics This reading guide is provided to assist you in your reading. I encourage you to read the material through, first, then go back to answer the questions. You are not expected to submit written answers. You are expected to have responses ready for class discussion. Only the boldfaced questions will appear on exams. Page numbers refer to Louis Pojman, Moral Philosophy, 3rd ed., Hackett. Aristotle, “Virtue Ethics,” pp 249-259. 1. What makes some end better than another end? What will the best good be like? 2. Why is happiness the highest good? 3. How does the good of something depend on its function? 4. What is man’s particular function? What is human good? 5. “For one swallow does not make a spring...” (252) Explain. Be specific about the use that Aristotle makes of this statement. 6. What are the two kinds of virtues? Describe them. 7. How do we acquire virtue? What does this mean about how we should live our lives? 8. How must an action be done, in order for it to be done virtuously? 9. Is virtue a feeling? Explain. 10. In what way is virtue a mean state? What lie at the extremes from this mean? 11. How are bravery and temperance virtues? Between which extremes do they lie? 12. How are generosity and magnanimity virtues? Between which extremes do they lie? 13. How are mildness, truthfulness, wit, and friendliness virtues? Between which extremes do they lie? 14. How are some vices more opposed to the mean than others? Provide examples. -
Lon Fuller and Substantive Natural Law Anthony D'amato Northwestern University School of Law, [email protected]
Northwestern University School of Law Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons Faculty Working Papers 1981 Lon Fuller and Substantive Natural Law Anthony D'Amato Northwestern University School of Law, [email protected] Repository Citation D'Amato, Anthony, "Lon Fuller and Substantive Natural Law" (1981). Faculty Working Papers. Paper 131. http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/facultyworkingpapers/131 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Working Papers by an authorized administrator of Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. Lon Fuller and Substantive Natural Law, by Anthony D'Amato,* 26 Am. J. Juris 202-218 (1981) Abstract: I will contend that Fuller's secular or "procedural" natural law, as described by Moffat, does not cover the theoretical position that could be occupied by a substantive natural lawyer, that such a theoretical position is viable today, and that there are some key elements in Fuller's theory that actually conflict with substantive natural law and might therefore be criticized from that perspective. Tags: Jurisprudence, Natural Law, Fuller (Lon), Hart, Dworkin, Cicero, Bentham, Austin, Aquinas [pg202]** Since Lon Fuller was the efficient, sufficient, and necessary cause of my entering the field of jurisprudence, it is with some trepidation that I venture here to criticize his work. However, I take a little comfort from the fact that he always welcomed criticism, even from, and sometimes particularly from, the converted. I will contend that Fuller's secular or "procedural" natural law, as described by Professor Moffat, does not cover the theoretical position that could be occupied by a substantive natural lawyer, that such a theoretical position is viable today, and that there are some key elements in Fuller's theory that actually conflict with substantive natural law and might therefore be criticized from that perspective. -
The Prospective Pareto Principle and Equity of Access to Health Care
The Prospective Pareto Principle and Equity of Access to Health Care ALLAN GIBBARD University of Michigan ( f "Tk r ORALITY IS MADE FOR MAN, NOT MAN FOR | \ / | morality.”11 interpret this aphorism as suggesting that JL V J L questions of morality can most fundamentally be ad dressed by considering human benefits and human harms—those ben efits and harms to which our acceptance of various alternative moral principles would tend to lead. This formula is vague, but I shall be concerned in this paper with one attempt to state clearly at least a part of what is involved. I shall be examining issues of social justice in access to health care. Does justice, I shall ask, require that everyone be assured access to every kind of health care that can be expected to benefit him? If not, does it at least demand that everyone have equal access to health care, without regard to income or place of residence? Or does justice rather demand no more, and no less, than that everyone be assured a “decent minimum” of access to health care—and if that is so, what comprises that “decent minimum”? 1 The allusion is to M ark 2:27. This aphorism has been a theme in the moral philosophy of William Frankena, Ethics (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice- Hall, 1963), p. 37. Milbank Memorial Fund Q uarterly I Health and Society, Vol. 60, No. 3, 1982 © 1982 Milbank Memorial Fund and Massachusetts Institute of Technology 0160/1997/82/6003/0399-30 $01.00/0 399 400 Allan Gibbard These questions of social justice are at basis questions about our responsibilities to each other.