What Would a Satisfactory Moral Theory Be Like
The Elements of Moral Philosophy
James Rachels € Chapter 14
Professor doug Olena
Outline
191 Morality without Hubris
194 Treating People as They Deserve and Other Motives
196 Multiple-Strategies Utilitarianism
200 The Moral Community
201 Justice and Fairness
202 Conclusion
Morality w/o Hubris
191 ³Šthe various theories are not consistent with one another, and most are vulnerable to crippling objections.²
Rachels will make an attempt in this final chapter to say what a satisfactory theory might be like.
Morality w/o Hubris
191 A Modest Conception of Human Beings
191-192 ³A satisfactory theory wouldŠ be sensitive to the facts about human nature, and it would be appropriately modest about the place of human beings in the scheme of things.²
One need not accept his view of human origins to require humility about our contributions to society.
Arrogance about our persons or place in the scheme of things has never provided benefit to individuals or humanity.
Morality w/o Hubris
192 How Reason Gives Rise to Ethics
³Because we are rational, we are able to take some facts as reasons for behaving one way rather than another.²
193 ³The origin of our concept of Œought¹ may be found in these facts.²
³We find ourselves impelled to act in certain waysŠ as a result of thinking about our behavior and it¹s consequences.²
³We use the word Œought¹ to mark this new element of the situation.²
Morality w/o Hubris
193 If we are to act according to good reasons, then reason requires that we act impartially to all humans.
Psychological egoism is not reasonable because we are by nature social creatures.
Self-centered behavior does not fit any recognizable reality.
Morality w/o Hubris
193 ³So there is a pleasing theoretical Œfit¹ between
what reason requires, namely impartiality;
the requirements of social living, namely adherence to a set of rules that, if fairly applied, would serve everyone¹s interests; and
our natural inclination to care about others, at least to a modest degree.²
³All three work together to make moralityŠ natural for us.²
Treating PeopleŠ
194 ³The idea that people should be treated as they deserve is connected with the idea that they are rational agents with the power of choice.²
It seems fair to treat a decent person better than a misanthropist.
195 ³Because we live together with other people, how each of us fares depends not only on what we do but on what others do as well.
If we are to flourish, we need to obtain the good treatment of others.²
Treating PeopleŠ
195 ³The practice of acknowledging deserts gives people control over whether others will treat them well or badly.²
³If you behave well, you will be entitled to good treatment from others.
Treating PeopleŠ
Other Motives:
Disinterested, good behavior, hoping for reciprocation is not the only motivation for good behavior.
We behave differently toward our families and friends because of ties we have with them.
Often, as well we are driven by the motives of completing our work or art well, that doesn¹t take other people into account, yet adds to the moral benefit of people in general.
Multiple StrategiesŠ
197 Justifying motives for human behavior can be seen in the negative like this: If we don¹t do X, ³we would all be much worse off² or ³our lives would be so much poorer.²
³Perhaps, then, the single moral standard is human welfare.²
Multiple StrategiesŠ
197 ³This doesn¹t mean that we should always be motivated by that standard in the ordinary course of our lives.²
³Our lives will go better if, instead, we love our children, enjoy our friends, take pride in our work, keep our promises, and so on.²
Multiple StrategiesŠ
198 ³the most plausible view might be called Multiple-Strategies Utilitarianism.
The ultimate end is the general welfare, but diverse strategies may be endorsed as a means of achieving that end.²
Multiple StrategiesŠ
Right Action as Living according to the Best Plan.
198 If there were a list that corresponded with every necessity for the best kind of life, they would include, at least, the list on page 198 and the additional considerations listed on 199.
199 Each of our best plans may differ in particulars, but generally have the same ends in mind.
Multiple StrategiesŠ
199 ³The overall theory is utilitarian, even though it may frequently endorse people acting from motives that do not look utilitarian at all.²
The Moral Community
200 ³If the moral community is not limited to people in one place, neither is it limited to people at any one time.²
³Whether people will be affected by our actions now or in the distant future makes no difference.²
³Our obligation is to consider all their interests equally.²
The Moral Community
200 Humans are not the only species on the planet.
201 ³Impartiality requires the expansion of the moral community not only across space and time but across the boundaries of species as well.²
Justice and Fairness
201 ³Questions of justice arise any time one person is treated differently from another.²
202 ³Insofar as fairness is concerned, a person¹s voluntary actions can justify departures from the basic policy of Œequal treatment,¹ but nothing else can.²
A just society would reward work and self improvement, but not luck.
Conclusion
History has told us that previous attempts to solve the moral riddles have only been partially successful. HoweverŠ
³As Derek Parfit has observed, the earth will remain habitable for another billion years, and civilization is now only a few thousand years old.
If we do not destroy ourselves, moral philosophy along with all the other human inquiries, may yet have a long way to go.²