What is morality

1
What is morality?

• We cannot give a (substantive) definition.
• Why not?
• What does it mean to live morally?

2
What is morality?

• In the absence of a definition, we should look
  for general features that can guide us.
• The case of Baby Jan Doe
• Two conflicting positions
• surgery vs. no surgery

3
What is morality?

• What is the philosophers concern?
• To discover the truth.

4
What is morality?

• How do we discover the truth?
• Look for reasons.

5
What is morality?

• Why must we look at reasons (reason)?
• Do we have any other options?
• Why wouldnt we want to consider those options?

6
What is morality?

• What sorts of reasons?
• Empirical claims
• Normative claims
• Principles
• Claims (typically general) about what is
  right and wrong

7
What is morality?

• Moral Argument(e.g. pg 6 of Rachels)
• P1-Px Empirical premises
• P1-Px Normative premises (often times a
  principle)
• _________
• CNormative conclusion
• How do we evaluate these arguments?
• What role will the moral theory play?

8
What is morality?

• Rachels notion of impartiality (vs. the notion
  of Universality from lecture 1) See pg. 9 for
  formulation 1.
• Another way of putting his notion (formulation
  2) Impartiality is a proscription against
  arbitrariness.
• Which formulation is better? Why?

9
What is morality?

• Rachels formulation (pg. 11)
• Morality is, at the very least, the effort to
  guide ones conduct by reason -- that is, to do
  what there are the best reasons for doing --
  while giving equal weight to the interests of
  each individual who will be affected by ones
  conduct.
• Is there a better way to put it?

10
Psychological Egoism

• What is the doctrine of psychological egoism?
• The only thing anyone is capable of desiring or
  pursuing ultimately (as an end in itself) is his
  own self-interest.
• Question Can a psychological egoist hold that
  some people, sometimes, desire others happiness?

11
Psychological Egoism

• Does psychological egoism say that people OUGHT
  to pursue only their own self-interest as an end
  in itself?
• The doctrine of PE is not a claim about what
  OUGHT to be the case, but a claim about what IS
  the case.

12
Psychological Egosim

• Prima facie reasons to accept PE
• All my actions are the result of MY
  motives/desires -- whenever I act, I am always
  pursuing MY desires.
• Satisfying a desire brings pleasure -- so, in
  every case where I get pleasure, my desire is for
  my own pleasure.

13
Psychological Egosim

• We often deceive ourselves into thinking our
  desires are noble. (Examples? Boesky? Office
  Space example?) -- Couldnt we always be doing
  this?
• Morality is learned by pleasure/pain principle
  moral education works b/c it takes the doctrine
  of PE as its basis.

14
Psychological Egosim

• Feinbergs Arguments
• Argument 1 PE is an empirical
  hypothesis/claim/theory. As such, it should be
  based on careful scientific study. Is it?
• No.
• Why not?

15
Psychological Egosim

• Argument 2 PEArgument 4a is based on a logical
  confusion.
• What is the confusion?
• Analytic statements cannot entail synthetic
  ones.
• Every voluntary act is prompted by the agents
  own motive/desire.
• Cannot entail
• Every voluntary act is prompted by a selfish
  motive. (See section 6)

16
Psychological Egosim

• Argument 3 PEArgument 4b is problematic.
• Does satisfying a desire always result in
  pleasure? I.e. Is the premise of argument 4b
  false?
• Example I got no satisfaction from getting
  what I wanted so bad. (Is that all there is?)
• Even if pleasure does accompany the satisfaction
  of a desire, whats the problem?

17
Psychological Egosim

• Argument 4 Argument from Disinterested
  Benevolence
• How does Feinberg turn the egoistic hedonists
  argument on its back?
• The presence of pleasure (satisfaction) can be
  conclusive proof that the action is Unselfish.
• If Lincoln had been wholly indifferent to the
  plight of the pigs, why would he derive any
  pleasure from helping them?
• The PE-ist cannot explain acts of disinterested
  benevolence -- when they try, they get the
  explanation backwards.
• The pleasure doesnt explain why they do it (what
  explains the pleasure?), why they do it (that
  they care) explains why they get pleasure.

18
Psychological Egoism

• Argument 5 Disinterested Malevolence
• Why would people sacrifice themselves to do
  injury to another?
• If we were, at bottom, selfish, we would not try
  to injure others where it was not in our
  interest.

19
Psychological Egosim

• Argument 6 Response to the self-deception
  argument
• The self-deception argument does not involve a
  logical confusion.
• To establish such a sweeping generalization, we
  need considerable evidence. Do we have it?

20
Psychological Egosim

• Argument 7 Argument conc. moral education
• Whats wrong with the parent who says I just
  want my kid to be happy?? (pg. 11)
• Could such a kid turn out to be like Jones?
  Whats wrong with Jones?
• Such a parent/person doesnt take the paradox of
  hedonism seriously.
• What does this have to do with psychological
  egoism?

21
Psychological Egoism

• Feinbergs point
• The psychological fact that the Paradox of
  Hedonism reveals, shows us that Psych. Egoism
  must be false. Why?
• B/c if pleasure and happiness presuppose desires
  for something else (dancing, education, etc.),
  then the existence of pleasure and happiness are
  evidence that people, in fact, desire things
  other than pleasure or happiness and are moved by
  them.

22
Psychological Egoism

• How might the Psychological Egoist respond to
  argument 7?
• We pursue all those things for the sake of our
  own pleasure -- our own pleasure/satisfaction
  is still the fundamental motive.
• Feinbergs response?

23
Psychological Egoism

• What do you mean by pleasure?
• Two possibilities. What are they?
• Pleasure as sensation (P1)
• Pleasure as satisfaction (P2)

24
Psychological Egoism

• Dilemma
• If P1, then there is a problem.
• If P2, then there is a problem.
• What are the problems?