PHIL 1180 Chapter Patridge: Patridge - Future Generations
28 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
Recently there has been an increased use of future generations and posterity in popular media and ethics. Moral and metaethical problems on the status of future persons future persons do not exist now. What is the moral status of future persons? any attempt to improve future persons result in a population of totally di erent individuals. no one can be improved by present policies. Utilitarianism: how far into the future does our provision for posterity extend how can we calculate the utility of our provision for future indv, we don"t know their preferences and needs. Do we harm might have beens by denying them existence by adopting stringent population control policies. Communitarianism: we are morally bound to future generations through shared membership in a community. we do not converse with the future generations but we have cultural interaction with them. Moral similarity rational moral debate and moral adaptation and evolution is essential to a vital transgenerational community.
