Philosophy
You see a speed trap set up for the folks in the other lane. Do you flash your lights and alert them? If so, was it a good act?
You get nothing from it. It was a purely other-directed action. The desire was to keep those folks on the other side from getting an expensive ticket, higher insurance, being late to where they are going, in any number of ways keeping their life from being more unhappy than it need be. It is a thoughtful, caring gesture to help out a stranger.
At the same time, you are helping out a stranger who is doing something wrong. Speeding makes the probability of an accident higher and in the case of the accident more dangerous. You are helping them, but that help is helping them get away with something.
So is this act, which clearly is one of random kindness, a morally good thing?
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- Judging Actions, Judging People
One of the barriers to robust moral discourse in our society is a reluctance on the part of smart, thoughtful, caring people to make clear judgments about the actions of others, even when the actions are clearly wrong. One of the major sources of this...
- Jeremy Bentham In The Lab
I've got a colleague who does pain research (and, no, there is no truth to the rumor that my 8 am logic class is one of his experiments). He studies physiological issues related to pain. Where pain is usually the result of an undesirable change to...
- Sins Of The Left: The Moral Poverty Of Ethical Subjectivism
Since my discussion of libertarianism has been getting some attention from the folks who have ventured over from Pharyngula, here's the companion piece about the problems with ethical subjectivism. There is also a nice post on a similar issue at Philosophy,...
- Sins Of The Left: The Moral Poverty Of Ethical Subjectivism
When I teach ethics, the most common view in the room is Ethical Subjectivism, that moral judgments are purely a matter of personal decision. Everyone has his or her own ethical system and the fact that you consider an act morally right means that, for...
Philosophy
Is Being Kind Always Morally Good?
You see a speed trap set up for the folks in the other lane. Do you flash your lights and alert them? If so, was it a good act?
You get nothing from it. It was a purely other-directed action. The desire was to keep those folks on the other side from getting an expensive ticket, higher insurance, being late to where they are going, in any number of ways keeping their life from being more unhappy than it need be. It is a thoughtful, caring gesture to help out a stranger.
At the same time, you are helping out a stranger who is doing something wrong. Speeding makes the probability of an accident higher and in the case of the accident more dangerous. You are helping them, but that help is helping them get away with something.
So is this act, which clearly is one of random kindness, a morally good thing?
- When Is Thoughtfulness Morally Necessary?
Ethicists use the term "supererogatory" for acts that are above and beyond the call of duty, that is, acts that are good, but not morally required. I've been thinking lately about how we draw this line. You're standing in line at the grocery...
- Judging Actions, Judging People
One of the barriers to robust moral discourse in our society is a reluctance on the part of smart, thoughtful, caring people to make clear judgments about the actions of others, even when the actions are clearly wrong. One of the major sources of this...
- Jeremy Bentham In The Lab
I've got a colleague who does pain research (and, no, there is no truth to the rumor that my 8 am logic class is one of his experiments). He studies physiological issues related to pain. Where pain is usually the result of an undesirable change to...
- Sins Of The Left: The Moral Poverty Of Ethical Subjectivism
Since my discussion of libertarianism has been getting some attention from the folks who have ventured over from Pharyngula, here's the companion piece about the problems with ethical subjectivism. There is also a nice post on a similar issue at Philosophy,...
- Sins Of The Left: The Moral Poverty Of Ethical Subjectivism
When I teach ethics, the most common view in the room is Ethical Subjectivism, that moral judgments are purely a matter of personal decision. Everyone has his or her own ethical system and the fact that you consider an act morally right means that, for...