Notes for 5/1/2026

 5/1/2026

What are you looking forward to in the near future?
 
Do we deserve credit for doing what’s right?



The default answer depends on meaning of “right.”



Actions can be:
-    Obligatory
-    Forbidden
-    Permissible

Suppose you don’t cheat on your spouse.

Most people would agree that you don’t deserve credit for this. Fidelity is part of the marriage commitment and is therefore obligatory.

Suppose you don’t murder your business partner.
Most people would agree that you don’t deserve credit for this, either. Murder is ethically forbidden (not murdering is obligatory).


These examples suggest the general principle that:

(C) Someone only deserves credit for actions that are not obligatory.

This agrees with common intuitions about numerous examples.

Suppose I give $20 to a charity.

I deserve credit for this because my action is permissible but not obligatory.



Saul Smilansky argues that I should generally be grateful when people don’t harm me. This means, however, that they deserve credit for not harming me, which means Smilansky rejects (C). Instead, he seems to endorse something like:

(S) Someone always deserves credit for doing something good when they could have done something bad (or maybe even less good) instead.

Most people find this implausible.

Gratitude is generally considered appropriate only in cases where you receive a benefit to which you are not entitled.

You say “thank you” after receiving a gift exactly because it was a GIFT. You don’t need to thank someone for something you purchased.

Gratitude seems appropriate where, but only where, someone deserves credit for what they’ve done.


There are hard cases, however.


Does a server in a restaurant deserve a tip (“gratuity”)?
You pay for both food and service. Why should you leave a tip?

The usual explanation is inadequate: It is obligatory to leave a tip when service is minimally adequate. 

Is it wrong for parents not to give gifts to their children? If so, then are they really gifts? Are children entitled to gifts? Does this mean they don’t need to say, “thank you”?



Let’s revisit (C): Someone only deserves credit for actions that are not obligatory.


Suppose I promise to help Bob move. The night before moving day, my truck breaks down. I can fix it, but I need to stay up late and put in 6 hours of work so that the truck is ready.
Assuming I fix the truck, don’t I deserve credit for keeping my promise to Bob?


Example 2: Suppose Bob has tried to kill me but I manage to subdue him. I could kill Bob and plausibly claim self-defense, but I resist the impulse. 

Could I deserve credit for not killing Bob even though killing him is forbidden?


Example 3: I find a rich person’s wallet full of cash at a time when I am destitute. I am tempted to keep the money, but instead I return it to its owner. Do I deserve credit for this?

These examples suggest something like the following principle:
(D) The more difficult it is for one to fulfill an obligation, the more credit one deserves for doing so.

This appears to be a sorites case: If credit for doing what’s right exists on a sliding scale corresponding to the difficulty of doing it, then perhaps Smilansky is right: People DO deserve credit for not harming me and I should be grateful to the degree it is difficult for them not to harm me.


But is this right?


Example 4: Suppose you are married and have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to sleep with your hottest celebrity crush without your spouse finding out. But you resist the temptation. Do you deserve credit for this? If you tell your spouse that you resisted the temptation, should your spouse be grateful that you didn’t?


Example 5: Bob doesn’t know how much I hate him. If I tell him one day that I have SO wanted to kill him every day for 25 years, should he be grateful to me that I didn’t?