Philosophy 1020 Lecture 15: Lecture 15 (Nov 12) The Principle of Fair Plaay
18 Dec 2015
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Since no man has a natural authority over his fellow man, and since force does not give rise to any right, conventions therefore remain the basis of all legitimate authority among men. (sc i. 4) The structure of rousseau"s argument: p v q v r, ~p, ~q, therefore, r. Our idea today: wait, there"s another option: s, the principle of fair play. An analogy: the officious intermeddler" in the law of unjust enrichment. Simmons: this ignores the difference between mere beneficiaries and beneficiaries who are also participants, that is, between merely being in receipt of a benefit and accepting a benefit. One can accept a benefit without consenting to the scheme that provided it. One accepts a benefit when either (1) one tries and succeed in getting it, or (2) one takes it willingly and knowingly. The problem: many benefits of social cooperation are open and are difficult to avoid.
