Moral aggregation / Iwao Hirose.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hirose, Iwao.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ethics.

Utilitarianism.

Physical Description:

xiii, 234 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, 2015.

Summary:

Aggregation is concerned with a trade-off between benefits to a group of individuals and fosses to another group. It is an essential feature of utilitarianism, and hence critics of utilitarianism reject aggregation. Iwao Hirose elucidates the theoretical nature of interpersonal and intrapersonal aggregation and defends a form of aggregation-formal aggregation, as distinguished from substantive aggregation in utilitarianism. Formal aggregation is broader than substantive aggregation and is aimed at clarifying the coherent structure that underlies the relation between the overall ethical judgment and individuals' morally relevant factors. Hirose argues that formal aggregation can avoid problems for utilitarianism. He further argues that formal aggregation can satisfy the demands of critics of the conventional understanding of aggregation, and is therefore more attractive than substantive aggregation and the unqualified rejection of aggregation. Hirose's analysis thus elucidates the far-reaching scope of aggregation and offers a new insight to one of the fundamental elements in ethical theory. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part 1 A Theory of Aggregation

1 Why Aggregation? 3

1.1 Aggregation in Ethics 3

1.2 Example I: QALY Aggregation 8

1.3 Example II: Taurek's Rescue Case 11

1.4 The Structure of This Book 14

2 The Structure of Aggregation 19

2.1 Aggregation Defined 19

2.2 What Is Aggregative and What Is Not? 25

2.3 The Structure of Interpersonal Aggregation 31

2.3.1 Interpersonal Comparability 32

2.3.2 Impartiality 36

2.3.3 Pareto 38

2.3.4 Continuity 39

3 Formal and Substantive Aggregation 42

3.1 Counterexample to Interpersonal Aggregation: The World Cup Case 42

3.2 Hidden Assumptions 46

3.3 Substantive and Formal Aggregation 51

3.4 Formal Aggregation in Perspective 59

4 Aggregation and the Separateness of Persons 64

4.1 The Separateness of Persons: Rawls's Strict Account 64

4.2 The Wider Account 67

4.3 Defusing the Wider Account 73

4.4 The Separateness Objection and Contractarianism 78

4.5 Scanlon's Contractualism 84

5 Intra-Personal Aggregation 89

5.1 Who Supports Intra-Personal Aggregation? 89

5.2 The Structure of Intra-Personal Aggregation 92

5.3 The Objection to Intra-Personal Continuity 96

5.4 The Objection to Temporal Symmetry 98

Part 2 The Number Problem

6 Taurek's Argument for the Coin-Toss 109

6.1 Taurek and the Rescue Case 109

6.2 Taurek (1): The Permissibility Claim 112

6.3 Taurek (2): The No-Worse Claim 115

6.4 Taurek (3): The Equal Respect Claim 119

6.5 Two Remarks on Taurek's Argument 122

6.6 Critics of Aggregation (l): Nozick 125

6.7 Critics of Aggregation (2): Rawls 128

6.8 Critics of Aggregation (3): Nagel 131

6.9 Three Solutions and Many Intuitions 135

7 Four Responses 140

7.1 How to Deal with Taurek's Claim? 140

7.2 Kavka on Taurek 142

7.3 The Kamm-Scanlon Argument 147

7.4 Kamm's Argument for Best Outcomes 161

7.5 Schelling's Probabilistic Argument 168

8 Irrelevant Utilities and Formal Aggregation 177

8.1 The Principle of Irrelevant Utilities 177

8.2 The Objection to the Principle of Irrelevant Utilities 184

8.3 Taking Unfairness Seriously 188

8.4 The Large-Scale Rescue Case Revisited 197

8.5 The Force of Aggregation 200

9 Weighted Lotteries 203

9.1 The Third Proposal: Weighted Lotteries 203

9.2 The Appeal of Weighted Lotteries 205

9.3 The Procedure of Proportional Chances: Two Criticisms 210

9.4 The General Weighted Lotteries: Two-Step Criticism 214

9.5 An Additional Problem 218.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780199933686

0199933685

OCLC:

879527865