Thank you for writing this piece, Sarah! I think the difference stated above between: A) counterfactual impact of an action, or a person; B) moral praise-worthiness is important.
You might say that individual actions, or lives have large differences in impact, but remain sceptical of the idea of (intrinsic) moral desert/merit – because individuals’ actions are conditioned by prior causes. Your post reminded me a lot of Michael Sandel’s book, The Tyranny of Merit. Sandel takes issue with the attitude of “winners” within contemporary meritocracy who see themselves as deserving of their success. This seems similar to your concerns about hubris amongst “high-impact individuals” .
Thank you for writing this piece, Sarah! I think the difference stated above between: A) counterfactual impact of an action, or a person; B) moral praise-worthiness is important.
You might say that individual actions, or lives have large differences in impact, but remain sceptical of the idea of (intrinsic) moral desert/merit – because individuals’ actions are conditioned by prior causes. Your post reminded me a lot of Michael Sandel’s book, The Tyranny of Merit. Sandel takes issue with the attitude of “winners” within contemporary meritocracy who see themselves as deserving of their success. This seems similar to your concerns about hubris amongst “high-impact individuals” .