PHIL 1550 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Suicide Prevention, Institute For Operations Research And The Management Sciences
10 Feb 2017
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2 central claims of the desire theory : if something is good for us, then it fulfills our desires, if something fulfills our desires, then it is good for us. Getting what you want may not be necessary for promoting your good. 3 examples in which something benefits us even though it doesn"t satisfy any of our desires : pleasant surprises. Getting a benefit that you didn"t want/hope for. You"re a bit better off as a result of such things, even though they didn"t satisfy any of your desires: small children & the severely mentally handicapped. Can benefit such people in a # of ways, even though we don"t give them what they want. Parent benefits child by getting him vaccinated against various diseases. Psychologists can benefit mentally unstable patient w/ a treatment that may be the last thing she wants: suicide prevention. Those who are deeply sad/depressed may decide that they would be better off dead.
