PHILOS 2YY3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Moral Agency
16 May 2018
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PHILOS 2YY3 – Mar 6 2018
Deontological Pluralism
Duty not Utility
• Ross thinks that it is both incoherent and contrary to common sense to suppose that a
moral agent decides what to do by considering the net utility of their action (262; 266-8)
o The problem is that there is no relation of the concept of right with that of utility
increasing action → it is never certain that what is right is necessarily conducive
to utility, nor what is conducive to utility is necessarily right (267)
• And yet, in real situations, if we have a genuine conflict and we do not know what the
best course of action is (e.g. lie to save a life; sacrifice a life to have another; break a
promise to benefit another, etc.), upon what basis do we decide the right course of
action?
Recognizing Duties
• For Ross, we do not arrive at a pure concept of law that reason recognizes as imposing a
perfect duty to obey, but rather we recognize duties in the circumstantial relations that
demand their observance (263)
o Duties themselves are kinds of acts that have the character of obligation in
relation to circumstantial relations that have moral significance (263;269)
• Ross thinks that there are basic kinds of duty corresponding with basic kinds of morally
significant circumstantial relations; he calls these prima facie duties
Prima Facie Duties 1
A. Oligatio prediated o preious ats of y o
• 1. Duty of Fidelity: one has a responsibility to perform a promised action, and to
conduct oneself in an honest and truthful manner (duty of veracity)
• 2. Duty of Reparation: if an act is wrongful/harmful one has a responsibility to restore
another to the state they were in prior to the act
Prima Facie Duties 2
B. Oligatios prediated o ats of other e
• 3. Duty of Gratitude: one has a responsibility to demonstrate thankfulness and
appreciation for services rendered or benefits received
C. Obligations predicated on meritorious distribution
• 4. Duty of Justice: one has a responsibility to proportionately give to each what they
deserve
Prima Facie Duties 3
D. Obligations predicated on promoting the welfare of self and others
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