your culture! ! Do what the priests say God tells you to do! ! Accept your place in the social order! The “Modern Age” arose as such demands were met with increasingly skeptical questioning.
man! How noble in reason! how infi- nite in faculty! in form, in mov- ing, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?
man! How noble in reason! how infi- nite in faculty! in form, in mov- ing, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Shakespeare, Hamlet 1602
by culture, society, religion and other people, I am . . . a free agent, with my own needs and desires, and the ability to think for myself. ! I alone can decide what’s best for me.
“society,” only individuals. ! Social rules are conventional, not natural or God-given. ! Morality can be based on individual self-interest, otherwise it’s impossible.
“society,” only individuals. ! Social rules are conventional, not natural or God-given. ! Morality can be based on individual self-interest, otherwise it’s impossible. ! Morality must be based on individual self-interest, otherwise nobody will follow it.
laws, no customs, no morality. ! What would life be like? Hobbes (1600-1650): Life would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short . . . a war of all against all.”
laws, no customs, no morality. ! What would life be like? Hobbes (1600-1650): Life would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short . . . a war of all against all.” Locke (1700-1770): There would be no way to settle conflicts peacefully even though we have a sense of morality.
laws, no customs, no morality. ! What would life be like? Hobbes (1600-1650): Life would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short . . . a war of all against all.” Locke (1700-1770): There would be no way to settle conflicts peacefully even though we have a sense of morality. ! In such a world rational agents would come up with some rules of their own – a Social Contract.
of a legitmate state authority empowered to settle disputes, enforce contracts and maintain order . . . ! We freely give up the liberty to decide everything for ourselves, and agree to be bound by the law, and to respect everybody else’s life, liberty and property.
of a legitmate state authority empowered to settle disputes, enforce contracts and maintain order . . . ! We freely give up the liberty to decide everything for ourselves, and agree to be bound by the law, and to respect everybody else’s life, liberty and property. sign here .............................
social and moral rules to escape the anarchy of the state of nature. p2 We can all agree that such rules are a good idea. c So the rules we have that govern our social lives are in fact based on a social contract.
lives be based on a contract when I never signed one? ! Can social rules even be based on a contract? Don’t contracts depend on pre-existing rules? ! If this contract is only hypothetical why should I stick to it?
lives be based on a contract when I never signed one? ! Can social rules even be based on a contract? Don’t contracts depend on pre-existing rules? ! If this contract is only hypothetical why should I stick to it? ! More generally, why shouldn’t I cheat on any agreement when cheating is in my best interests?
for robbing a gas station. The police have some evidence that you two also robbed a bank, which you did, but not enough to convict you. They take you each into separate rooms and make the following offer:
for robbing a gas station. The police have some evidence that you two also robbed a bank, which you did, but not enough to convict you. They take you each into separate rooms and make the following offer: If you rat on your partner for the bank job, and she stays quiet, you go free, your partner gets 5 years in jail.
for robbing a gas station. The police have some evidence that you two also robbed a bank, which you did, but not enough to convict you. They take you each into separate rooms and make the following offer: If you rat on your partner for the bank job, and she stays quiet, you go free, your partner gets 5 years in jail. If you both rat on each other for the bank job, you each get 3 years in jail.
for robbing a gas station. The police have some evidence that you two also robbed a bank, which you did, but not enough to convict you. They take you each into separate rooms and make the following offer: If you rat on your partner for the bank job, and she stays quiet, you go free, your partner gets 5 years in jail. If you both rat on each other for the bank job, you each get 3 years in jail. If you both keep quiet, you each get 1 year in jail.
for robbing a gas station. The police have some evidence that you two also robbed a bank, which you did, but not enough to convict you. They take you each into separate rooms and make the following offer: If you rat on your partner for the bank job, and she stays quiet, you go free, your partner gets 5 years in jail. If you both rat on each other for the bank job, you each get 3 years in jail. If you both keep quiet, you each get 1 year in jail. What should you do?
quiet 1 year each you go free 10 years for partner partner rats 10 years for you partner goes free 5 years each Either your partner will rat on you or not, you do not know which.
quiet 1 year each you go free 10 years for partner partner rats 10 years for you partner goes free 5 years each Either your partner will rat on you or not, you do not know which. If she keeps quiet, it is better for you to rat – freedom is better than 1 year in jail for you.
quiet 1 year each you go free 10 years for partner partner rats 10 years for you partner goes free 5 years each Either your partner will rat on you or not, you do not know which. If she keeps quiet, it is better for you to rat – freedom is better than 1 year in jail for you. If she rats, it is better to rat – 5 years in jail is better than 10 for you.
quiet 1 year each you go free 10 years for partner partner rats 10 years for you partner goes free 5 years each Either your partner will rat on you or not, you do not know which. If she keeps quiet, it is better for you to rat – freedom is better than 1 year in jail for you. If she rats, it is better to rat – 5 years in jail is better than 10 for you. So whatever she does, it is better for you to rat.
quiet 1 year each you go free 10 years for partner partner rats 10 years for you partner goes free 5 years each Either your partner will rat on you or not, you do not know which. If she keeps quiet, it is better for you to rat – freedom is better than 1 year in jail for you. If she rats, it is better to rat – 5 years in jail is better than 10 for you. So whatever she does, it is better for you to rat. Too bad you can’t both keep your mouths shut!
house is clean you get a free ride they don’t clean you are a sucker house is a wreck Either your roommates will clean up or not, you do not know which.
house is clean you get a free ride they don’t clean you are a sucker house is a wreck Either your roommates will clean up or not, you do not know which. If they clean up, you should not – you get a clean house with no effort.
house is clean you get a free ride they don’t clean you are a sucker house is a wreck Either your roommates will clean up or not, you do not know which. If they clean up, you should not – you get a clean house with no effort. If they don’t clean up, you should not – it’s better not to be stuck cleaning up after them.
house is clean you get a free ride they don’t clean you are a sucker house is a wreck Either your roommates will clean up or not, you do not know which. If they clean up, you should not – you get a clean house with no effort. If they don’t clean up, you should not – it’s better not to be stuck cleaning up after them. So whatever they do, it is better for you not to clean up.
house is clean you get a free ride they don’t clean you are a sucker house is a wreck Either your roommates will clean up or not, you do not know which. If they clean up, you should not – you get a clean house with no effort. If they don’t clean up, you should not – it’s better not to be stuck cleaning up after them. So whatever they do, it is better for you not to clean up. Too bad you can’t all help out!
catch fishing far into the future you catch more they overfish you lose out no more fish Either the other fishermen overfish or not, you do not know which. If they limit their catch, you should overfish – you catch more fish.
catch fishing far into the future you catch more they overfish you lose out no more fish Either the other fishermen overfish or not, you do not know which. If they limit their catch, you should overfish – you catch more fish. If they overfish, you should – that’s better than being left out.
catch fishing far into the future you catch more they overfish you lose out no more fish Either the other fishermen overfish or not, you do not know which. If they limit their catch, you should overfish – you catch more fish. If they overfish, you should – that’s better than being left out. So whatever they do, you should overfish.
catch fishing far into the future you catch more they overfish you lose out no more fish Either the other fishermen overfish or not, you do not know which. If they limit their catch, you should overfish – you catch more fish. If they overfish, you should – that’s better than being left out. So whatever they do, you should overfish. Too bad you can’t all limit your catch!
How do we stick to even voluntary agreements when we have an incentive to cheat? ! Hobbes: only an absolute authority can keep us in line. ! Can social pressure help?
How do we stick to even voluntary agreements when we have an incentive to cheat? ! Hobbes: only an absolute authority can keep us in line. ! Can social pressure help? ! What makes ethical rules binding if self-interest won’t?
How do we stick to even voluntary agreements when we have an incentive to cheat? ! Hobbes: only an absolute authority can keep us in line. ! Can social pressure help? ! What makes ethical rules binding if self-interest won’t? ! Utilitarianism and Kantian Ethics attempt to answer this question. Stay tuned . . .
on rational self-interest. ! Ethics must be based on rational self-interest. consequences " Ethical rules are conventional. " They are rationally justifiable. " They have a naturalistic explanation.
on rational self-interest. ! Ethics must be based on rational self-interest. consequences " Ethical rules are conventional. " They are rationally justifiable. " They have a naturalistic explanation. arguments O Argument from self-interest.
on rational self-interest. ! Ethics must be based on rational self-interest. consequences " Ethical rules are conventional. " They are rationally justifiable. " They have a naturalistic explanation. arguments O Argument from self-interest. evaluation Argument begs the question. We have no reason not to cheat on rules when it is in our interest.
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