Notes for 4/17/2026

 4/17/2026
[Philosophy Club every Monday, 4-5 pm, in the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences room 436 ("The Cave")]
[Bioethics Club: Mondays from 5:30pm-6:30pm in Leigh Hall 408]

Is it wrong to cheat on your partner even if no one ever finds out?
 
Subjectivism

How might we avoid subjectivism?
How could objectivism in ethics possibly be defended?

Principle of reciprocity (rational consistency)
This makes it possible to value the experiences of others.
And the qualitative character of experiences (whether our own or others’) is a matter of FACT, not opinion.


Utilitarianism: The right action is the one that produces the most overall pleasure for all affected among all available choices.


Utilitarianism is an instance of CONSEQUENTIALISM = actions are made right or wrong entirely by their consequences.


Deontology: Some actions that are wrong “on principle” independently of their consequences. (Ethics is broadly a matter of following certain rules of conduct.)

Best known deontologist = Immanual Kant.
How are objective obligations possible?

If Hume is right, then an obligation and the feeling of being obligated are exactly the same.

Kant says we CAN choose to do things that we have no inclination to do.

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