What Would a
Satisfactory
Moral Theory
Look Like?
PHIL 2525
Lec 22
Derek Parfit
Some people believe
that there cannot be
progress in Ethics,
since everything has
already been said...
I believe the
opposite..

Timothy Vermeulen 2002

“Ah, but a man's
reach should exceed
his grasp, or what's a
heaven for?”
Carl Sagan 1934 - 1996
Carl Sagan’s Cosmic Time Charts
Pre December Dates (approximate, of course)
January 1
May 1
September 9
September 14
September 25
October 2
October 9
November 1
November 12
November 15
Big Bang
Origin of the Milky Way
Origin of the Solar System
Formation of the Earth
Origin of life on Earth
Formation of the oldest rocks known on Earth
Date of oldest fossils (bacteria and blue-green algae
Invention of sex (by micro-organisms)
Oldest fossil photosynthetic plants
Eukaryotes (first cells with nuclei) flourish
From The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan
December

“The life of man is
of no greater
importance to the
universe than that
of an oyster.”
David Hume
(1711-1776)

Charles Darwin
Steven Pinker’s list of inherited moral
concerns:
Harm
Fairness
Community
Authority
Purity
Steven Pinker’s list of inherited moral
concerns:
Harm
Fairness
Community
Authority
Purity
We are rational beings...
We consider options
 We weigh consequences
 We choose to behave one way rather than
another
 We can articulate the reasons for our
choices

We are rational beings...

Consistency
(not making an exception of yourself, or
your group, or your gender, or your
nationality…)

Impartiality
(taking everyone’s interests into account…)
Ethical Egoism:
 Psychological Egoism:

prescriptive
descriptive

Rachels says that
psychological
egoism is not
true...we do not
always act only for
our own self
interest.
P 175: Pleasing theoretical fit...
13.2 Treating People as They Deserve...

Remember Kant’s ‘respect for persons’

If we don’t adjust our actions to reflect
our judgments of others’ actions we may
be denying their status as free agents...

But...
Bertrand
Russell
If when a man writes a
poem or commits a murder,
the bodily movements
involved in his act result
solely from physical causes,
it would seem absurd to put
up a statue to him in the
one case and to hang him
in the other.
Challenges to the existence
of free will

The challenge from Logic

The challenge from Theology

The challenge from Science
Daniel Dennett: Elbow Room:
The Varieties of Free Will Worth Wanting

Nature has
played a
devious
trick on us.

Dennett’s
book
suggests
we should
grin and
bear it.
Are we just letting ourselves off easy?
or…
 Are we respecting them as free agents?

Are we teaching them something?
and…
 is that patronizing?

13.3 Reasons to ignore impartiality

Our lives will go better if...we love our
children, enjoy our friends, take pride in
our work,
keep our
promises.....
13.3 Reasons to ignore impartiality
13.4 Multiple-Strategies Utilitarianism
Human welfare as a moral standard...
Keep your promises (but not always)
 Refrain from hurting people (but not
always)
 Never tell a lie (except sometimes)
 Never put yourself first (except
sometimes)

13.4 Multiple-Strategies Utilitarianism
Acting in accordance with your BEST PLAN...
Think about personalizing it:
 Motives
 Virtues
 Decision-making strategies
13.5 The Moral Community
Everyone and everything that can suffer
and prefers not to is part of our moral
community. Near and far.
Present and future.
13.6 Justice and Fairness
The Natural Lottery...
Looks, brains, family status
13.7 Conclusion(s)
The Trolley Problem...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WB3Q5EF4Sg
Neuroethics and the Trolley Problem...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOfKyjyWiU0&feature=related
Neurobiology and
social science study
how humans
develop moral
awareness
Harvard’s Moral Sense Test
One Nurse’s Story...

“Mercy...please
just let me go.”

“Murderer!...God
help patients who
get you for a
nurse!”
The Ethics of
Erasing a Bad
Memory

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnSgSe2GzDc
Marc Hauser on Moral Minds

Neuroethics and neuroanthropology
Barry Schwartz on Practical Wisdom

Jonathan Haidt o
http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_s
chwartz_on_our_loss_of_wisdo
m.html