As usual, I’m a huge fan of this work of yours. Thanks for your contribution!
Writing because the argument for the Duty of Beneficence felt a little underdeveloped here. Not that there aren’t strong arguments for it, but that it needed some additional advocacy in this piece.
I’m imagining sitting down to a dinner table and being told, “You really shouldn’t eat with that fork” and incredulously responding with, “Why not?” If the response to my question is, “All of the different authorities on manners (e.g., Emily Post, etc.) all say you shouldn’t use that fork,” I’d be rather unconvinced. When I reply, “Well I just don’t care that much about manners,” the argument-from-agreement-of-different-manners-systems is not compelling to me.
I think it’s worth developing the meta-ethical warrant for the Duty of Beneficence in this piece for both philosophical reasons but also practical ones. A college student considering either buying a new iPhone or giving $1000 to charity is unlikely to be convinced by the claim that, “All of the various fans of morality all agree that you should give the money to charity, not buy a new phone.” I know this isn’t a project in meta-ethics, but I suspect that addressing this issue in motivating the Duty of Beneficence might make the piece itself more effective.
Hey Will,
As usual, I’m a huge fan of this work of yours. Thanks for your contribution!
Writing because the argument for the Duty of Beneficence felt a little underdeveloped here. Not that there aren’t strong arguments for it, but that it needed some additional advocacy in this piece.
I’m imagining sitting down to a dinner table and being told, “You really shouldn’t eat with that fork” and incredulously responding with, “Why not?” If the response to my question is, “All of the different authorities on manners (e.g., Emily Post, etc.) all say you shouldn’t use that fork,” I’d be rather unconvinced. When I reply, “Well I just don’t care that much about manners,” the argument-from-agreement-of-different-manners-systems is not compelling to me.
I think it’s worth developing the meta-ethical warrant for the Duty of Beneficence in this piece for both philosophical reasons but also practical ones. A college student considering either buying a new iPhone or giving $1000 to charity is unlikely to be convinced by the claim that, “All of the various fans of morality all agree that you should give the money to charity, not buy a new phone.” I know this isn’t a project in meta-ethics, but I suspect that addressing this issue in motivating the Duty of Beneficence might make the piece itself more effective.
Thanks for your thoughts!