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Intuitionism W. D. Ross. Intuitionism  Pluralism: Goods differ in kind  Conflict: Goods of different kinds can conflict with each other  Complexity:

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Presentation on theme: "Intuitionism W. D. Ross. Intuitionism  Pluralism: Goods differ in kind  Conflict: Goods of different kinds can conflict with each other  Complexity:"— Presentation transcript:

1 Intuitionism W. D. Ross

2 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

3 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?

4 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.?

5 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.

6 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.

7 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.

8 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

9 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


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