Intuitionism
W. D. Ross
Intuitionism
 Pluralism: Goods differ in
kind
 Conflict: Goods of
different kinds can conflict
with each other
 Complexity: There are no
universal rules for resolving
these conflicts
Exceptions
 This implies that moral principles always have
exceptions
 It’s wrong to lie—but….
 It’s wrong to steal— but….
 It’s wrong to commit murder—but….
 Is there anything it’s always wrong to do?
Defeasibility
 This means that moral reasoning is defeasible.
 Good inferences can become bad in the
presence of additional information.
 Smith murdered Jones.
 Murder is wrong.
 So, Smith did something wrong.
 That’s a reasonable inference.
 But further information can undercut it. E.g.?
Sobel Sequences
 Buddhist story: A farmer receives a horse. “That’s
good!” says his neighbor. “We’ll see,” says the
farmer.
 His son falls off the horse and breaks his leg.
“That’s bad!” says the neighbor. “We’ll see,”
says the farmer.
 His son receives notice to report for military duty.
But the broken leg gets him out of it. “That’s
good!” says the neighbor. “We’ll see,” says the
farmer.
Simpson Sequences
Owner: Take this object, but beware it carries a terrible curse!
Homer: [worried] Ooooh, that's bad.
Owner: But it comes with a free Frogurt!
Homer: [relieved] That's good.
Owner: The Frogurt is also cursed.
Homer: [worried] That's bad.
Owner: But you get your choice of topping!
Homer: [relieved] That's good.
Owner: The toppings contains Potassium Benzoate.
Homer: [stares]
Owner: That's bad.
Prima Facie Obligation
 Prima Facie Obligation: what you ought to do,
given some features of the particular case
 Actual Obligation: what you ought to do, all
things considered
 Smith has a prima facie obligation not to kill
Jones
 Is it also an actual obligation? That depends on
all the facts of the case.
Moral Risk
 Actual obligations depend on all the facts of the
case
 But you can never know all the facts of the case
 Right: so every act involves some moral risk
 Maybe there’s additional information you could
obtain that would undercut or override the
conclusion you’ve reached so far
Sources of Prima Facie Obligation
 Previous acts of mine
 Promise: I’m obliged to keep it
 Wrongful act: I’m obliged to make amends
 Previous acts of others (gratitude)
 Justice (distributing goods according to merit)
 Beneficence (duties to help others)
 Self-improvement (virtue)
 Not injuring others