JOHN STUART MILL UTILITARIANISM. Introduction to Philosophy Phil 100, Summer 2011 Benjamin Visscher Hole IV

Size: px
Start display at page:

Download "JOHN STUART MILL UTILITARIANISM. Introduction to Philosophy Phil 100, Summer 2011 Benjamin Visscher Hole IV"

Transcription

1 JOHN STUART MILL UTILITARIANISM Introduction to Philosophy Phil 100, Summer 2011 Benjamin Visscher Hole IV

2 Hedonistic Utilitarianism Utilitarianism: An act is right if and only if (and because) it would (if performed) likely produce at least as high a utility (net overall balance of welfare) as would any other alternative action one might perform instead. (Timmons, 8) Hedonism: Pleasure is the one and only value and pain is the one and only disvalue. Bentham is a Quantitative Hedonist Mill is a Qualitative Hedonist

3 Recapitulation of Bentham s HU Features of Bentham s HU Problems with Bentham s HU Bentham makes a felicific calculus for maximizing utils. On this view: 1.Pleasures are sensations. 2.Pleasures are homogenous with respect to value. 3.Pleasures are given. 1. Pleasures are sensations. 2. Pleasures are homogenous with respect to value. 3. Distributive objection 4. Demandingness a. Psychological b. Substantive

4 Bentham supported animal rights

5 John Stuart Mill ( ) Child of James Mill, who was a close friend of Bentham Raised as a living exhibit of the power of utilitarianism A celebrity as a child, touring Europe to defend utilitarianism Read Greek at three

6 Mill has a mental breakdown at age 20: [I] had what might truly be called an object in life; to be a reformer of the world. My conception of my own happiness was entirely identified with this object....[i]t occurred to me to put the question directly to myself: "Suppose that all your objects in life were realized; that all the changes in institutions and opinions which you are looking forward to, could be completely effected at this very instant: would this be a great joy and happiness to you?" And an irrepressible self-consciousness distinctly answered, "No!" At this my heart sank within me: the whole foundation on which my life was constructed fell down. (From Mill s Autobiography:

7 At age Mill meets Harriet Taylor, who is already married to John Taylor. They write together in a chaste relationship for twenty-one years They are married in 1851, two years after the death of John Taylor

8 Why is this relevant? There are clear echoes of these experiences in Mill s writing: 1. Experiments in living 2. Feminism & Education 3. Pleasures differ in quality, not just quantity 4. There are higher pleasures

9 Mill s Hedonistic Utilitarianism the summum bonum, or, the foundation of morality (329) What is value?

10 Mill s Hedonistic Utilitarianism pleasure and freedom from pain are the only things desirable as ends; and that all desirable things are desirable either for pleasure inherent in themselves or as a means to the promotion of pleasure and the prevention of pain (330). Intrinsic vs. Instrumental value The Fetishism Argument

11 The Reductionist Move The Fetishism Argument Hedonism: pleasure is the only intrinsic value. All other apparent values are only, at best, instrumentally valuable towards pleasure. The fetishism argument claims that if you deny the above bullet point, you re fetishizing some instrumental value as an intrinsic one. Discussion Question 1. (a) Are there bad pleasures? (b) Does the Deluded Sadist thought experiment count for or against the fetishism argument? 2. Are there any other possible objections? How can you block the reductionist s move?

12 Mill Reformulates Bentham s Hedonism Qualitative vs. Quantitative i.higher pleasures are qualitatively better than lower pleasures. ii.higher pleasures are immeasurable and therefore incommensurable with one another. iii.no matter how much lower pleasure you have, it is not as good as a higher pleasure.

13 What are higher pleasures? Human beings have faculties more elevated than the animal appetites and, when once made conscious of them, do not regard anything as happiness which does not include their gratification (331).

14 What are higher pleasures? Moral elitism? Human beings have faculties more elevated than the animal appetites and, when once made conscious of them, do not regard anything as happiness which does not include their gratification (331).

15 Possible Objection Doctrine worthy of a swine Mill s Response: The HP vs. LP Distinction Higher Pleasures (human/intellectual) vs. Lower Pleasures (animal/bodily)

16 It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied (331). The Pig Socrates CONTENTMENT: Lower Pleasures No Lower Pleasures HAPPINESS: No Higher Pleasures Higher Pleasures Higher Pleasures (human/intellectual) vs. Lower Pleasures (animal/bodily)

17 It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied (331). Discussion Question Do you agree with Mill? Higher Pleasures (human/intellectual) vs. Lower Pleasures (animal/bodily)

18 The Competent Judges Test Of two pleasures, if there be one to which all or almost all who have experience of both give a decided preference that is the most desirable pleasure If one of the two is, by those who are competently acquainted with both, placed so far above the other that they prefer it, and would not resign it for any quantity of the other pleasure which their nature is capable of, we are justified in ascribing to the preferred enjoyment a superiority in quality so far outweighing quantity as to render it, in comparison, of small account (330).

19 The Competent Judges Test 1. Competent judges are people who have experienced both higher and lower pleasures. 2. They choose higher pleasures over the qualitatively different lower pleasures because the higher ones are qualitatively better. 3. If someone chooses lower pleasures, he is not a competent judge (has not fully experienced the higher pleasure).

20 Discussion Question Can the competence of such jurors be decided in a way that does not beg the question at issue? (331)

21 Mill responds to critics Objection Demandingness: there is not time, previous to action, for calculating and weighing the effects (332) Response The answer to the objection is that there has been ample time, namely the whole past duration of the human species (332).

22 Mill responds to critics Objection One objection to act utilitarianism is that it would sanction violating various common-sense moral rules whenever a small amount of utility would result (332). Response A response to this objection is that when the damaging effects of such actions of valuable social institutions and practices are added in, such violations will be justified only in very unusual cases, where it is no longer clear that they are objectionable (332).

23 Rule Utilitarianism? What kind of rule? Rules of thumb admit exceptions cases. Universal rules do not admit exception cases. All theories need rules of thumb Whatever we adopt as the fundamental principle of morality, we require subordinate principles to apply it by; (333)

24 The Collapse of Rule Utilitarianism

25 Can Mill hold the line? Recall Mill s argument (editors gloss) A response to this objection is that when the damaging effects of such actions of valuable social institutions and practices are added in, such violations will be justified only in very unusual cases, where it is no longer clear that they are objectionable (332).

26 Mill s Proof Mill s Empiricism a. Visible = df able to be seen b. Desirable = df able to be desired c. valuable = df what we desire Quote No reason can be given why the general happiness is desirable, except that each person, so far as he believes it to be attainable, desires his own happiness (334).

27 Mill s Proof Mill s Empiricism a. Visible = df able to be seen b. Desirable = df able to be desired c. valuable = df what we desire Upshots ACCORDING TO MILL: Virtue is instrumentally valuable Virtue is instrumentally valuable a fortiori when it is valued as an end in itself, i.e., as an intrinsic value. So what can Mill say about the Deluded Sadist?

28 Mill s Proof Mill s Empiricism a. Visible = df able to be seen b. Desirable = df able to be desired c. valuable = df what we desire G.E. Moore s Objection Well, the fallacy in this step is so obvious, that it is quite wonderful how Mill failed to see it. The fact is that 'desirable' does not mean 'able to be desired' as 'visible' means 'able to be seen.' The desirable means simply what ought to be desired or deserves to be desired; just as the detestable means not what can but what ought to be detested and the damnable what deserves to be damned...is it merely a tautology when the Prayer Book talks of good desires? Are not bad desires also possible? (Principia Ethica, 40)

29 Mill s Proof Mill s Empiricism a. Visible = df able to be seen b. Desirable = df able to be desired c. valuable = df what we desire G.E. Moore s Objection THE NATURALISTIC FALLACY Value cannot be defined in naturalistic terms (e.g., pleasure, what we desire). Any naturalistic definition of value is not true by definition. Whether the definition is true is an open question. So whether value is what we desire is also an open question.

30 Comparison Problems with Bentham s HU Mill s HU 1. Pleasures are sensations 2. Pleasures are quantifiable 3. Distributive objection 4. Demandingness Discussion Question How does Mill s revised version of Bentham s HU stand up to the criticisms?

Moral Theory. What makes things right or wrong?

Moral Theory. What makes things right or wrong? Moral Theory What makes things right or wrong? Consider: Moral Disagreement We have disagreements about right and wrong, about how people ought or ought not act. When we do, we (sometimes!) reason with

More information

MILL. The principle of utility determines the rightness of acts (or rules of action?) by their effect on the total happiness.

MILL. The principle of utility determines the rightness of acts (or rules of action?) by their effect on the total happiness. MILL The principle of utility determines the rightness of acts (or rules of action?) by their effect on the total happiness. Mill s principle of utility Mill s principle combines theories of the right

More information

Philosophy 1100 Introduction to Ethics. Lecture 3 Three Different Types of Ethical Theories

Philosophy 1100 Introduction to Ethics. Lecture 3 Three Different Types of Ethical Theories Philosophy 1100 Introduction to Ethics Lecture 3 Three Different Types of Ethical Theories The ethical theories that philosophers have advanced fall into three main groups. To understand these different

More information

A DEFENSE OF ABORTION

A DEFENSE OF ABORTION JUDITH JARVIS THOMSON S A DEFENSE OF ABORTION Phil 100, Introduction to Philosophy Benjamin Visscher Hole IV JUDITH JARVIS THOMSON is an American philosopher who teaches at the Massachusetts Institute

More information

Kant s Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals

Kant s Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals Kant s Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals G. J. Mattey Winter, 2015/ Philosophy 1 The Division of Philosophical Labor Kant generally endorses the ancient Greek division of philosophy into

More information

MILL ON JUSTICE: CHAPTER 5 of UTILITARIANISM Lecture Notes Dick Arneson Philosophy 13 Fall, 2004

MILL ON JUSTICE: CHAPTER 5 of UTILITARIANISM Lecture Notes Dick Arneson Philosophy 13 Fall, 2004 1 MILL ON JUSTICE: CHAPTER 5 of UTILITARIANISM Lecture Notes Dick Arneson Philosophy 13 Fall, 2004 Some people hold that utilitarianism is incompatible with justice and objectionable for that reason. Utilitarianism

More information

Kant s deontological ethics

Kant s deontological ethics Michael Lacewing Kant s deontological ethics DEONTOLOGY Deontologists believe that morality is a matter of duty. We have moral duties to do things which it is right to do and moral duties not to do things

More information

Critical Study David Benatar. Better Never To Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006)

Critical Study David Benatar. Better Never To Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006) NOÛS 43:4 (2009) 776 785 Critical Study David Benatar. Better Never To Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006) ELIZABETH HARMAN Princeton University In this

More information

PHIL 341: Ethical Theory

PHIL 341: Ethical Theory PHIL 341: Ethical Theory Student data (on cards) Contact info: name, address, phone number, university ID, etc. Background: especially data on satisfaction of the prerequisite (two prior courses in philosophy).

More information

Unit 3 Handout 1: DesJardin s Environmental Ethics. Chapter 6 Biocentric Ethics and the Inherent Value of Life

Unit 3 Handout 1: DesJardin s Environmental Ethics. Chapter 6 Biocentric Ethics and the Inherent Value of Life Philosophy 160C Fall 2008 jayme johnson Unit 3 Handout 1: DesJardin s Environmental Ethics Chapter 6 Biocentric Ethics and the Inherent Value of Life Introduction So far we have focused on attempts to

More information

1/9. Locke 1: Critique of Innate Ideas

1/9. Locke 1: Critique of Innate Ideas 1/9 Locke 1: Critique of Innate Ideas This week we are going to begin looking at a new area by turning our attention to the work of John Locke, who is probably the most famous English philosopher of all

More information

Divine command theory

Divine command theory Today we will be discussing divine command theory. But first I will give a (very) brief overview of the semester, and the discipline of philosophy. Why do this? One of the functions of an introductory

More information

Locke s psychological theory of personal identity

Locke s psychological theory of personal identity Locke s psychological theory of personal identity phil 20208 Jeff Speaks October 3, 2006 1 Identity, diversity, and kinds............................. 1 2 Personal identity...................................

More information

BUSINESS ETHICS :: Utilitarianism

BUSINESS ETHICS :: Utilitarianism 1 BUSINESS ETHICS :: Utilitarianism Introduction Jeremy Bentham Theory of Utility Types of Utilitarianism Some Criticisms Moral Dilemma Introduction Over the course of the next two lectures we will be

More information

Hume on identity over time and persons

Hume on identity over time and persons Hume on identity over time and persons phil 20208 Jeff Speaks October 3, 2006 1 Why we have no idea of the self........................... 1 2 Change and identity................................. 2 3 Hume

More information

Draft Copy: Do Not Cite Without Author s Permission

Draft Copy: Do Not Cite Without Author s Permission WHAT S WRONG WITH THE FUTURE OF VALUE ARGUMENT (1/8/2015) A. WHAT THE FUTURE OF VALUE ARGUMENT IS According to the future of value argument, what makes it wrong to kill those postnatal human beings we

More information

Last May, philosopher Thomas Nagel reviewed a book by Michael Sandel titled

Last May, philosopher Thomas Nagel reviewed a book by Michael Sandel titled Fourth Quarter, 2006 Vol. 29, No. 4 Editor s Watch Sandel and Nagel on Abortion Last May, philosopher Thomas Nagel reviewed a book by Michael Sandel titled Public Philosophy in The New York Review of Books.

More information

Ethical Theories ETHICAL THEORIES. presents NOTES:

Ethical Theories ETHICAL THEORIES. presents NOTES: ETHICAL THEORIES SLIDE 1 INTRODUCTORY SLIDE Ethical theories provide part of the decision-making foundation for Decision Making When Ethics Are In Play because these theories represent the viewpoints from

More information

Explain and critically assess the Singer Solution to Global Poverty

Explain and critically assess the Singer Solution to Global Poverty 1 Explain and critically assess the Singer Solution to Global Poverty Introduction In this essay, I will summarise Singer's solution to world poverty, and then consider some of the objections that may

More information

Hedonism is among the oldest, simplest, and most widely discussed theories of value

Hedonism is among the oldest, simplest, and most widely discussed theories of value Hedonism Word Count: 4,488 Hedonism is among the oldest, simplest, and most widely discussed theories of value theories that tell us what makes the world better or what makes a person s life go better.

More information

Chris Heathwood 10 Subjective Theories of Well-Being. 1. The Topic of Well-Being

Chris Heathwood 10 Subjective Theories of Well-Being. 1. The Topic of Well-Being Chris Heathwood 10 Subjective Theories of Well-Being 1. The Topic of Well-Being Classical hedonistic utilitarianism makes the following claims: that our fundamental moral obligation is to make the world

More information

WHAT MAKES SOMEONE'S LIFE GO BEST Derek Parfit (From Parfit, Reasons and Persons, 1984)

WHAT MAKES SOMEONE'S LIFE GO BEST Derek Parfit (From Parfit, Reasons and Persons, 1984) WHAT MAKES SOMEONE'S LIFE GO BEST Derek Parfit (From Parfit, Reasons and Persons, 1984) What would be best for someone, or would be most in this person's interests, or would make this person's life go,

More information

Justice and Ethics. Jimmy Rising. October 18, 2002

Justice and Ethics. Jimmy Rising. October 18, 2002 Justice and Ethics Jimmy Rising October 18, 2002 1 Introduction Utilitarianism is an ethical system. John Stuart Mill s use of Utilitarianism to determine what is just and what is injustice may seem natural,

More information

In Defense of Kantian Moral Theory Nader Shoaibi University of California, Berkeley

In Defense of Kantian Moral Theory Nader Shoaibi University of California, Berkeley In Defense of Kantian Moral Theory University of California, Berkeley In this paper, I will argue that Kant provides us with a plausible account of morality. To show that, I will first offer a major criticism

More information

1 The Unique Character of Human Existence

1 The Unique Character of Human Existence 1 1 The Unique Character of Human Existence Each of us is confronted with the challenge of being human, the challenge of becoming a person. It is important to emphasize this word challenge, because it

More information

Killing And Letting Die

Killing And Letting Die [This essay originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ethics, 2nd edition, ed. Lawrence Becker and Charlotte Becker (New York: Routledge, 2001), vol. 2, pp. 947-50.] Killing And Letting Die Is it worse

More information

Writing Thesis Defense Papers

Writing Thesis Defense Papers Writing Thesis Defense Papers The point of these papers is for you to explain and defend a thesis of your own critically analyzing the reasoning offered in support of a claim made by one of the philosophers

More information

THE LIMITS OF WELL-BEING

THE LIMITS OF WELL-BEING Social Philosophy & Policy, vol. 9, no. 2 (1992), pp. 169-189 THE LIMITS OF WELL-BEING BY SHELLY KAGAN I. THE DIALECTIC What are the limits of well-being? This question nicely captures one of the central

More information

GCE. Religious Studies. Mark Scheme for January 2012. Advanced Subsidiary GCE Unit G572: Religious Ethics. Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations

GCE. Religious Studies. Mark Scheme for January 2012. Advanced Subsidiary GCE Unit G572: Religious Ethics. Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations GCE Religious Studies Advanced Subsidiary GCE Unit G572: Religious Ethics Mark Scheme for January 2012 Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations OCR (Oxford Cambridge and RSA) is a leading UK awarding body,

More information

about the welfare of others. On the face of it, at least, this violates utilitarianism, which implies that everyone s good should be considered

about the welfare of others. On the face of it, at least, this violates utilitarianism, which implies that everyone s good should be considered Utilitarianism How can we tell right from wrong? What makes right actions right and wrong actions wrong? The answer, many philosophers have held, is what makes people happy. Happiness, as Aristotle first

More information

Engineering Ethics. Engineering Dimensions Magazine. Dr. Bowers s Notes. These articles are posted on the course website

Engineering Ethics. Engineering Dimensions Magazine. Dr. Bowers s Notes. These articles are posted on the course website Engineering Ethics Dr. Bowers s Notes from the 4 Ethics Articles taken from Engineering Dimensions Magazine These articles are posted on the course website 85-219 Introduction to Engineering Materials

More information

February 17, 2010 Sheela Vardey, HO III Lynn Tran, 2 nd year Neonatology Fellow

February 17, 2010 Sheela Vardey, HO III Lynn Tran, 2 nd year Neonatology Fellow February 17, 2010 Sheela Vardey, HO III Lynn Tran, 2 nd year Neonatology Fellow Objectives To define ethics and introduce how it applies to clinical medicine To discuss the fundamental principles of ethics

More information

Christine M. Korsgaard. calls goodness as rationality. Officially, the theory is first presented to reinforce

Christine M. Korsgaard. calls goodness as rationality. Officially, the theory is first presented to reinforce The Unity of the Right and the Good in John Rawls s Thought This symposium is on the Legacy of John Rawls, but, in a way, my own contribution concerns the legacy that Rawls did not have. Part Three of

More information

Practical Jealousy Management

Practical Jealousy Management Florida Poly Retreat 2006 Practical Jealousy Management Part 1: On the Nature of Jealousy Jealousy is an unusual emotion in that it is an emotion rooted in other emotions. Often, the root of jealousy lies

More information

David P. Schmidt, Ph.D. Fairfield University

David P. Schmidt, Ph.D. Fairfield University STRATEGIES FOR APPLYING CATHOLIC SOCIAL THOUGHT TO BUSINESS ETHICS EDUCATION: Purpose of the Paper AN ETHICAL REASONING APPROACH David P. Schmidt, Ph.D. Fairfield University This paper will examine the

More information

Ethics Spring 2012. Espen Gamlund. Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Bergen espen.gamlund@fof.uib.no

Ethics Spring 2012. Espen Gamlund. Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Bergen espen.gamlund@fof.uib.no Ethics Spring 2012 Espen Gamlund Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Bergen espen.gamlund@fof.uib.no Contents 1. Morality and Ethics 2. Ethics Four Branches 3. Central Concepts 4. Ethical

More information

PHILOSOPHICAL ETHICS Adapted from Thomas White, "Ethics," Chapter 1, BUSINESS ETHICS: A PHILOSOPHICAL READER (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1993)

PHILOSOPHICAL ETHICS Adapted from Thomas White, Ethics, Chapter 1, BUSINESS ETHICS: A PHILOSOPHICAL READER (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1993) PHILOSOPHICAL ETHICS Adapted from Thomas White, "Ethics," Chapter 1, BUSINESS ETHICS: A PHILOSOPHICAL READER (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1993) Outline 1. Philosophical ethics 2. Teleological (results

More information

THE MORAL SIGNIFICANCE OF ANIMAL PAIN AND ANIMAL DEATH

THE MORAL SIGNIFICANCE OF ANIMAL PAIN AND ANIMAL DEATH c h a p t e r 2 6 THE MORAL SIGNIFICANCE OF ANIMAL PAIN AND ANIMAL DEATH e lizabeth h arman 1. Animal Cruelty and Animal Killing In this paper, I will be concerned with this question: what follows from

More information

Handout for Central Approaches to Ethics p. 1 E-mail: meelerd@winthrop.edu

Handout for Central Approaches to Ethics p. 1 E-mail: meelerd@winthrop.edu Handout for Central Approaches to Ethics p. 1 Five Basic Approaches to Ethical Decision-Making (from The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, www.scu.edu/ethics) The Rights Approach An important approach

More information

A. The Three Main Branches of the Philosophical Study of Ethics. 1. Meta-ethics. 2. Normative Ethics. 3. Applied Ethics

A. The Three Main Branches of the Philosophical Study of Ethics. 1. Meta-ethics. 2. Normative Ethics. 3. Applied Ethics A. The Three Main Branches of the Philosophical Study of Ethics 1. Meta-ethics 2. Normative Ethics 3. Applied Ethics 1 B. Meta-ethics consists in the attempt to answer the fundamental philosophical questions

More information

Study questions Give a short answer to the following questions:

Study questions Give a short answer to the following questions: Chapter 9 The Morality of Abortion 9.1 Homework Readings DW 15-17 Study questions Give a short answer to the following questions: 1. What are the two conflicting values in the abortion debate? 2. Explain

More information

ENLIGHTENMENT THINKERS AND GOVERNMENT MAN IS BORN FREE, BUT EVERYWHERE IS IN CHAINS.

ENLIGHTENMENT THINKERS AND GOVERNMENT MAN IS BORN FREE, BUT EVERYWHERE IS IN CHAINS. ENLIGHTENMENT THINKERS AND GOVERNMENT MAN IS BORN FREE, BUT EVERYWHERE IS IN CHAINS. Relevant Questions: Are people born good or bad? Are all people born equal? What is government? Why do societies have

More information

Do Animals Have Moral Standing?

Do Animals Have Moral Standing? (This is a lecture James Rachels gave at a conference in Cape Town, South Africa, in August of 1999. It has never been published.) Do Animals Have Moral Standing? James Rachels 1. Introduction In 1875,

More information

Kant, in an unusually non-technical way, defines happiness as getting

Kant, in an unusually non-technical way, defines happiness as getting Aporia Vol. 14 number 1 2004 The Role of Happiness in Kant s Ethics JULIE LUND HUGHES Kant, in an unusually non-technical way, defines happiness as getting what one wants. 1 Also unusual in his ethical

More information

Read this syllabus very carefully. If there are any reasons why you cannot comply with what I am requiring, then talk with me about this at once.

Read this syllabus very carefully. If there are any reasons why you cannot comply with what I am requiring, then talk with me about this at once. LOGIC AND CRITICAL THINKING PHIL 2020 Maymester Term, 2010 Daily, 9:30-12:15 Peabody Hall, room 105 Text: LOGIC AND RATIONAL THOUGHT by Frank R. Harrison, III Professor: Frank R. Harrison, III Office:

More information

HarperOne Reading and Discussion Guide for The Problem of Pain. Reading and Discussion Guide for. C. S. Lewis

HarperOne Reading and Discussion Guide for The Problem of Pain. Reading and Discussion Guide for. C. S. Lewis Reading and Discussion Guide for The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis 1. C. S. Lewis writes, Christianity is not the conclusion of a philosophical debate on the origins of the universe.... It is not a system

More information

ON EXTERNAL OBJECTS By Immanuel Kant From Critique of Pure Reason (1781)

ON EXTERNAL OBJECTS By Immanuel Kant From Critique of Pure Reason (1781) ON EXTERNAL OBJECTS By Immanuel Kant From Critique of Pure Reason (1781) General Observations on The Transcendental Aesthetic To avoid all misapprehension, it is necessary to explain, as clearly as possible,

More information

How To Understand The Moral Code Of A God (For Men)

How To Understand The Moral Code Of A God (For Men) Summary of Kant s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals Version 1.0 Richard Baron 27 February 2016 1 Contents 1 Introduction 3 1.1 Availability and licence............ 3 2 Definitions of key terms 4

More information

Observing and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way.

Observing and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way. HOW TO CHOOSE FROM THE DIFFERENT RESEARCH METHODS* The design is the structure of any scientific work. It gives direction and systematizes the research. The method you choose will affect your results and

More information

CRITICAL THINKING REASONS FOR BELIEF AND DOUBT (VAUGHN CH. 4)

CRITICAL THINKING REASONS FOR BELIEF AND DOUBT (VAUGHN CH. 4) CRITICAL THINKING REASONS FOR BELIEF AND DOUBT (VAUGHN CH. 4) LECTURE PROFESSOR JULIE YOO Claims Without Arguments When Claims Conflict Conflicting Claims Conflict With Your Background Information Experts

More information

The Liberal Arts: Preserving Humanity Jennifer Urbanek Art/Sociology University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

The Liberal Arts: Preserving Humanity Jennifer Urbanek Art/Sociology University of Wisconsin Milwaukee The Liberal Arts: Preserving Humanity Jennifer Urbanek Art/Sociology University of Wisconsin Milwaukee In the 21 st century, society is preoccupied by advancing technology and the accumulation of material

More information

Vivisection: Feeling Our Way Ahead? R. G. Frey Bowling Green State University

Vivisection: Feeling Our Way Ahead? R. G. Frey Bowling Green State University Vivisection: Feeling Our Way Ahead? R. G. Frey Bowling Green State University In his paper "Lab Animals and The Art of Empathy", David Thomas presents his case against animal experimentation. That case

More information

Love the Lord your God... with all your mind. Mathew 22:37

Love the Lord your God... with all your mind. Mathew 22:37 This game has been played in various settings in different countries. You are guaranteed to find treasure because you will be looking in the right place the hearts of Christians. TREASURE HUNT Treasure

More information

1. It is immoral to cause harm to an individual person.

1. It is immoral to cause harm to an individual person. Professor Tim Schallert Director, Behavioral Neuroscience program Department of Psychology University of Texas Austin, Texas September 24, 1997 Dear Dr. Schallert: It has come to our attention that the

More information

My Revision Notes: OCR AS Religious Studies: Religious Ethics

My Revision Notes: OCR AS Religious Studies: Religious Ethics My Revision Notes: OCR AS Religious Studies: Religious Ethics Exam practice questions OCR G572 2007 2012. Answer guidance has not been written or approved by OCR. These are guidelines of what might be

More information

Ethical Egoism. 1. What is Ethical Egoism?: Let s turn to another theory about the nature of morality: Ethical Egoism.

Ethical Egoism. 1. What is Ethical Egoism?: Let s turn to another theory about the nature of morality: Ethical Egoism. Ethical Egoism 1. What is Ethical Egoism?: Let s turn to another theory about the nature of morality: Ethical Egoism. Ethical Egoism: The morally right action is the one that best promotes the agent s

More information

Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.

Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. But until a person can say deeply and honestly, "I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday," that person cannot say, "I choose otherwise. Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

More information

PHL 202 Introduction to Ethics Spring 2004

PHL 202 Introduction to Ethics Spring 2004 PHL 202 Introduction to Ethics Spring 2004 Course Goals: This course is designed to enhance your understanding of the moral dimensions of human experience and to provide you with the theoretical understanding

More information

A relevant business ethics curriculum

A relevant business ethics curriculum A relevant business ethics curriculum Robert Shaw Graduate School of Business Guangdong University of Foreign Studies Victoria Business School Orauariki, New Zealand 29 July 2013 2 The internationalization

More information

Quine on truth by convention

Quine on truth by convention Quine on truth by convention March 8, 2005 1 Linguistic explanations of necessity and the a priori.............. 1 2 Relative and absolute truth by definition.................... 2 3 Is logic true by convention?...........................

More information

PSYCHOLOGICAL BULLETIN

PSYCHOLOGICAL BULLETIN Vol. I. No. i. January 15, 1904. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BULLETIN THE CHICAGO SCHOOL,. 1 BY PROFESSOR WILLIAM JAMES. The rest of the world has made merry over the Chicago man's legendary saying that ' Chicago

More information

A Utilitarian perspective on the ethics of modern agricultural practices. By Gregg Johnston, student

A Utilitarian perspective on the ethics of modern agricultural practices. By Gregg Johnston, student A Utilitarian perspective on the ethics of modern agricultural practices By Gregg Johnston, student Gregg Johnston 16Aprl.2015 1 Introduction Jeremy Bentham s statement on the principle of utility begins

More information

INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS PHIL 160 Summer Session I

INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS PHIL 160 Summer Session I INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS PHIL 160 Summer Session I This is a draft syllabus. The finalized syllabus will be available one week before the beginning of Summer Session I. Kiran Bhardwaj kbhardwa@live.unc.edu

More information

Corporate Recruiter Tells All

Corporate Recruiter Tells All Corporate Recruiter Tells All Tips, Secrets, and Strategies to Landing Your Dream Job! By Ryan Fisher INTRODUCTION It pains me to see so many people working day after day at unsatisfying jobs with limited

More information

Imagine that you were converted to utilitarianism today and resolved to live according to utilitarian morality? What changes, if any, would you make?

Imagine that you were converted to utilitarianism today and resolved to live according to utilitarian morality? What changes, if any, would you make? 1 Blackboard Notes on Peter Singer, Famine, Affluence, and Morality Imagine that you were converted to utilitarianism today and resolved to live according to utilitarian morality? What changes, if any,

More information

2. Argument Structure & Standardization

2. Argument Structure & Standardization 2. Argument Structure & Standardization 1 Some Review So, we have been looking at arguments: What is and is not an argument. The main parts of an argument. How to identify one when you see it. In the exercises

More information

Philosophical argument

Philosophical argument Michael Lacewing Philosophical argument At the heart of philosophy is philosophical argument. Arguments are different from assertions. Assertions are simply stated; arguments always involve giving reasons.

More information

Chapter 2 The Ethical Basis of Law and Business Management

Chapter 2 The Ethical Basis of Law and Business Management Chapter 2 The Ethical Basis of Law and Business Management Business owners and managers traditionally have had to ensure that their profitmaking activities did not exceed the ethical boundaries established

More information

Did the Punishment Fit the Crime?

Did the Punishment Fit the Crime? Teenagers and Criminal Justice Did the Punishment Fit the Crime? Fact Situation Hi, my name is Costas and I m 16. I spent my summer at the courthouse. I was on trial and was found guilty of killing a guy

More information

BY DAN MILLER. If nothing changed in your life over the next 5 years, would that be OK?

BY DAN MILLER. If nothing changed in your life over the next 5 years, would that be OK? THE POWER OF GOALS BY DAN MILLER If nothing changed in your life over the next 5 years, would that be OK? If you want different results next year, what are you willing to change in what you are doing now?

More information

CHAPTER 3. Methods of Proofs. 1. Logical Arguments and Formal Proofs

CHAPTER 3. Methods of Proofs. 1. Logical Arguments and Formal Proofs CHAPTER 3 Methods of Proofs 1. Logical Arguments and Formal Proofs 1.1. Basic Terminology. An axiom is a statement that is given to be true. A rule of inference is a logical rule that is used to deduce

More information

In an article titled Ethical Absolutism and the

In an article titled Ethical Absolutism and the Stance Volume 3 April 2010 A Substantive Revision to Firth's Ideal Observer Theory ABSTRACT: This paper examines Ideal Observer Theory and uses criticisms of it to lay the foundation for a revised theory

More information

WELCOME TO GOD S FAMILY

WELCOME TO GOD S FAMILY WELCOME TO GOD S FAMILY To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband

More information

THE REDWAY SCHOOL. This policy was written in line with the whole school Learning and Teaching Policy and Target Setting Policy.

THE REDWAY SCHOOL. This policy was written in line with the whole school Learning and Teaching Policy and Target Setting Policy. THE REDWAY SCHOOL Policy: Assessment, Recording and Reporting Date of Policy: September 2009 Reviewed each September Date of Current Policy: September 2015 Member of staff responsible: Ruth Sylvester Introduction

More information

Skepticism about the external world & the problem of other minds

Skepticism about the external world & the problem of other minds Skepticism about the external world & the problem of other minds So far in this course we have, broadly speaking, discussed two different sorts of issues: issues connected with the nature of persons (a

More information

6 Ways To Boost Your Love-Life (Whether single or partnered)! By Aine Belton

6 Ways To Boost Your Love-Life (Whether single or partnered)! By Aine Belton 6 Ways To Boost Your Love-Life (Whether single or partnered)! By Aine Belton Whatever your relationship status single, dating, or long-term partnered - being happy with yourself and your life will obviously

More information

Restorative Parenting: A Group Facilitation Curriculum Activities Dave Mathews, Psy.D., LICSW

Restorative Parenting: A Group Facilitation Curriculum Activities Dave Mathews, Psy.D., LICSW Restorative Parenting: A Group Facilitation Curriculum Activities Dave Mathews, Psy.D., LICSW RP Activities 1. Framework of Resourcefulness 2. Identifying the Broken Contract Articles 3. The Process of

More information

HOW FAITH INFLUENCES ETHICAL CHOICE. Ann Boyd (rector@stjohnshagerstown.org) or (boyd@hood.edu)

HOW FAITH INFLUENCES ETHICAL CHOICE. Ann Boyd (rector@stjohnshagerstown.org) or (boyd@hood.edu) ETHICS AND FAITH HOW FAITH INFLUENCES ETHICAL CHOICE Ann Boyd (rector@stjohnshagerstown.org) or (boyd@hood.edu) WHAT IS ETHICS? Ethics begins at the intersection of conflict of competing claims. Is morality

More information

Any Non-welfarist Method of Policy Assessment Violates the Pareto Principle. Louis Kaplow and Steven Shavell

Any Non-welfarist Method of Policy Assessment Violates the Pareto Principle. Louis Kaplow and Steven Shavell Any Non-welfarist Method of Policy Assessment Violates the Pareto Principle Louis Kaplow and Steven Shavell Harvard Law School and National Bureau of Economic Research The public at large, many policymakers,

More information

Profiles in Social Work. Episode 38 Deborah Goodman

Profiles in Social Work. Episode 38 Deborah Goodman Profiles in Social Work Episode 38 Deborah Goodman Intro - Hi, I m Charmaine Williams, Associate Professor and Associate Dean, Academic, for the University of Toronto, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social

More information

Opening Our Hearts, Transforming Our Losses

Opening Our Hearts, Transforming Our Losses Preface Alcoholism is a disease of many losses. For those of us who are the relatives and friends of alcoholics, these losses affect many aspects of our lives and remain with us over time, whether or not

More information

Social & Political Philosophy. Karl Marx (1818-1883) Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844

Social & Political Philosophy. Karl Marx (1818-1883) Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 Marx 1 Karl Marx (1818-1883) Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 Estranged Labor Marx lays out here his theory on the alienation of labor Marx s thesis would advance the view put forth by Rousseau

More information

OPENING INSTRUCTIONS

OPENING INSTRUCTIONS OPENING INSTRUCTIONS Members of the Jury: Respective Roles of Jurors and Judge You ve been chosen as jurors for this case, and you ve taken an oath to decide the facts fairly. As we begin the trial, I

More information

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAII. J. MICHAEL SEABRIGHT United States District Judge

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAII. J. MICHAEL SEABRIGHT United States District Judge IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAII August 8, 2011 J. MICHAEL SEABRIGHT United States District Judge GENERAL FEDERAL JURY INSTRUCTIONS IN CIVIL CASES INDEX 1 DUTY OF JUDGE 2

More information

How To Understand The Nature Of The Good In Utilitarianism

How To Understand The Nature Of The Good In Utilitarianism 1 Human Flourishing versus Desire Satisfaction [published in Social Philosophy and Policy 16, No. 1 (Winter, 1999)] Richard J. Arneson What is the good for human persons? If I am trying to lead the best

More information

The Problem of Evil not If God exists, she'd be OOG. If an OOG being exists, there would be no evil. God exists.

The Problem of Evil not If God exists, she'd be OOG. If an OOG being exists, there would be no evil. God exists. 24.00: Problems of Philosophy Prof. Sally Haslanger September 14, 2005 The Problem of Evil Last time we considered the ontological argument for the existence of God. If the argument is cogent, then we

More information

ARE THERE IRREDUCIBLY NORMATIVE PROPERTIES?

ARE THERE IRREDUCIBLY NORMATIVE PROPERTIES? ARE THERE IRREDUCIBLY NORMATIVE PROPERTIES? Bart Streumer b.streumer@rug.nl Australasian Journal of Philosophy 86 (2008): 537-561 Published version available here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00048400802215349

More information

Ethics in International Business

Ethics in International Business 4 Ethics in International Business INTRODUCTION Ethics refers to accepted principles of right or wrong that govern the conduct of a person, the members of a profession, or the actions of an organization.

More information

WATCHING THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS

WATCHING THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS GUIDED MEDITATION You can sit in a comfortable position, because the posture is not really important. What is important is to have your spine erect but relaxed. And you may have your eyes open or closed.

More information

MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS. 1. Why don t you tell me about yourself? 2. Why should I hire you?

MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS. 1. Why don t you tell me about yourself? 2. Why should I hire you? MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Why don t you tell me about yourself? The interviewer does not want to know your life history! He or she wants you to tell how your background relates to doing

More information

@ Home FAMILY Study Session

@ Home FAMILY Study Session @ Home FAMILY Study Session Parents NOTE: CLASSES WILL NOT MEET on @ Home Study Session days. JYM Year 1 Students and their parents may work through the Beatitudes @ Home Study Session as a family. Parents

More information

Exhibit memory of previously-learned materials by recalling facts, terms, basic concepts, and answers. Key Words

Exhibit memory of previously-learned materials by recalling facts, terms, basic concepts, and answers. Key Words The Six Levels of Questioning Level 1 Knowledge Exhibit memory of previously-learned materials by recalling facts, terms, basic concepts, and answers. who what why when where which omit choose find how

More information

Chapter 5: Fallacies. 23 February 2015

Chapter 5: Fallacies. 23 February 2015 Chapter 5: Fallacies 23 February 2015 Plan for today Talk a bit more about arguments notice that the function of arguments explains why there are lots of bad arguments Turn to the concept of fallacy and

More information

JOHN STUART MILL. John Skorupski. m London and New York

JOHN STUART MILL. John Skorupski. m London and New York JOHN STUART MILL John Skorupski m London and New York Contents Preface Abbreviations xi xv 1 THE MILLIAN PHILOSOPHY 1 1 Philosophy and its past 1 2 Logic and metaphysics 5 3 Ethics and politics 12 4 The

More information

CONTEMPORARY MORAL PROBLEMS LECTURE 9 ABORTION PART 1 THE MAIN ISSUE. Is abortion morally permissible? Let us avoid:

CONTEMPORARY MORAL PROBLEMS LECTURE 9 ABORTION PART 1 THE MAIN ISSUE. Is abortion morally permissible? Let us avoid: CONTEMPORARY MORAL PROBLEMS LECTURE 9 ABORTION PART 1 1 THE MAIN ISSUE Is abortion morally permissible? Let us avoid: 1. Loaded labels such as "pro-choice," "antichoice," "pro-life," "pro-abortion" 2.

More information

MILD DILEMMAS. Keywords: standard moral dilemmas, mild dilemmas, blame

MILD DILEMMAS. Keywords: standard moral dilemmas, mild dilemmas, blame MILD DILEMMAS Gregory Mellema Department of Philosophy Calvin College Grand Rapids, MI mell@calvin.edu Abstract. This paper argues that, while the existence of strong moral dilemmas is notoriously controversial,

More information

A. What is Virtue Ethics?

A. What is Virtue Ethics? A. What is Virtue Ethics? 1. Can be described as another part of normative ethics: - axiology studies what makes things (e.g. pleasure or knowledge) good or bad - normative ethics of behavior studies what

More information

Handout #1: Mathematical Reasoning

Handout #1: Mathematical Reasoning Math 101 Rumbos Spring 2010 1 Handout #1: Mathematical Reasoning 1 Propositional Logic A proposition is a mathematical statement that it is either true or false; that is, a statement whose certainty or

More information

A Glossary of Scrum / Agile Terms

A Glossary of Scrum / Agile Terms A Glossary of Scrum / Agile Terms Acceptance Criteria: Details that indicate the scope of a user story and help the team and product owner determine done-ness. Agile: the name coined for the wider set

More information