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CHAPTER 2: REASONING
Central Focus
What is reason?
What is truth?
Is reason neutral?
Is truth objective?
What role should reason play in moral decision making?
Key Terms
Misology
Deontology
Consequentialism
Utilitarianism (Mill, Singer)
Nihilism
Will to power
Readings
Kant
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Mill
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The only thing good without qualification or exception is a good will (other good
things can be used for bad purposes or with bad results, but not a good will)
A good will is one that operates entirely in accordance with the dictates of pure
reason
The categorical imperative is the universal command of reason, formulated in
several ways, two of which are:
always treat others as ends in themselves, and never as means to an end only
Act only according to that maxim which one could at the same time will to be a
universal law
Consequences of actions are not relevant in moral decision making- the important
thing is to discern duty and act according to it
Dignity follows from being a free, rational being, obeying only the laws of reason
one has legislated for oneself (which, though self-legislated, will be the same for
everyone because of the universal nature of reason)
Actions are right to the extent that they tend to maximize happiness, which entails
promoting pleasure and avoiding pain (Greatest Happiness Principle)
Good = happiness
Not all pleasures are of equal quality: it is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a
pig satisfied
One who has experienced and understood both higher and lower types of
pleasures will be competent to judge between them
Nietzsche
Truth is not highest value, instead what matters is life-promotion
Numbers, logic, concepts such as identity- these are all fictions, but necessary inventions
Ethical theories of Kant, Mill, et. al., are not expressions of universal truth; they are
reflections of the philosophers’ own interests, wishes, peculiarities etc.
Most philosophies are not the product of neutral dialectical reasoning, but really are
expressions of desires of the heart, unconscious confessions manifested as philosophical
truths or systems
The quest for the foundation of morality mistakenly assumed that there is “a morality”
and failed to recognize that there are many moralities as practiced around the world
Of all the many moralities, there are two basic types: slave morality and master morality;
the latter arises from those in a position of power and unashamedly so, the former arises
from those who are weak and insecure
At the bottom of everything, driving all life and all behavior and ideas, is the will to
power
Damasio
Criticizes the “high-reason view” held by Descartes, Plato and other rationalists
High-reason view holds that moral decision making is at its best when not infected with
emotions
Supports “Somatic Marker Hypothesis
Somatic markers are the body’s alarm system
Prinz
Defends sentimentalism
This is the view that morality rests on sentiments
Greene, Young and Sommers
Consider two versions of the trolley problem
Utilitarian responses based on reasoning
Kantian responses emotions that are not morally relevant to the situation
Whitt
There are multiple “knowledge systems,” tied to cultures, according to which knowledge,
learning, facts and values are understood
The dominant, western knowledge system is largely positivistic, that is, among other
things, it draws distinctions between facts and values, suggesting facts and the search for
facts are value-neutral
Many indigenous cultures are epistemologically pluralistic- they recognize multiple ways
of knowing and types of knowledge
Such cultures also often see fact and value as interrelated rather than distinct
The dominant knowledge system, because of its distinction between valuing and
knowing, frequently fails to respect values and interests of others
Piper
Discusses role of emotions in the creation of idenity
Questions the “Suffering Test” as a criterion for Blackness
Discusses level of acceptance of mixed ancestry as gauge of individual’s racism