PHILOS 3P03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Category Mistake, Practical Reason, Deontological Ethics

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHILOS 3P03
• Professor: Ingrid L.Stefanovic

Document Summary

Human nature is evil & violent and war reveals this. Descriptive: states do not respond to moral reasons, only act in their own interest. Prescriptive: states should act only on their interest. Universal: universal moral norms requiring states to act only in their interest. Particularist: moral norms arise only within communities with common identity. Selfish: states should do so because this is what makes life best for the state. Universal: because this is best for everyone- in the interest of all states. Should go to war if & only if it is in their interest to prescribe otherwise is futile. War is rarely i(cid:374) a state(cid:859)s i(cid:374)terest- in war, there are no constraints. Orend categorises realist claims wrongly- he is using kantian terms. There are examples of states acting for moral reasons. Some of our interests are moral interests- Ee(cid:373) to (cid:271)e (cid:373)oral reaso(cid:374)s that e(cid:374)ter i(cid:374) so(cid:373)e le(cid:448)el a(cid:271)out the (cid:858)state(cid:859)