PHL 201 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Moral Luck
2 May 2020
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Always treat human being, including yourself, as ands, and never as mere means. Advantages: gets many cases right, gives a plausible explanation of why certain actions are right or wrong, universal human right. Disadvantages: vague, we might not be autonomous (do we have free will, inconsistent with moral luck, can"t explain why beings that lack rationality or autonomy are worthy of respect. (babies, animal) Moral luck circumstances outsides of your control affect whether or not you did the right thing. Mill"s utilitarianism motives, intentions, desires, emotions are all irrelevant to the rightness of an action. Kant"s theories intentions may be relevant to rightness, but emotions and desires aren"t. Aristotle"s theory intentions, desires, emotions are all relevant to the rightness of an action. Virtue theory an act is morally right just because it is one that a virtuous person, acting in character, would do in that situation. Moral understanding is a kind of practical wisdom-
