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Kant (4)

Kant (4). Case studies. CI procedure reviewed. Propose a maxim Generalize Transform into law of nature Figure out PSW Q1: Would it be rational to adopt and act on the maxim in the PSW? Q2 Could I rationally choose the PSW?. Case 1: Martha’s predicament.

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Kant (4)

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  1. Kant (4) Case studies

  2. CI procedure reviewed • Propose a maxim • Generalize • Transform into law of nature • Figure out PSW • Q1: Would it be rational to adopt and act on the maxim in the PSW? • Q2 Could I rationally choose the PSW?

  3. Case 1: Martha’s predicament • Martha, as a home-service medical care volunteer, has cared for George through the final weeks of his fatal illness. Just before he died, George told Martha where a large sum of money he had accumulated was stored. He asked her to see that the money was given to the Society for Protection against Alien Control of the Earth (SPACE). Since George's illness did not affect his mental capacity, she agreed. But now that he has died, she is considering using the money to support the activities of the local Hunger Task Force, an organization that provides donated food to those who need it. George has no surviving friends or relatives, and no one else knows about the money. He left no written will.

  4. Case 1: Martha’s maxim • Need to fill in form: I am to do x in circumstances y in order to promote z • x = break a deathbed promise • y = Breaking the promise will allow me to do much more good for humanity • z = the goal of increasing human welfare

  5. Case 1: the PSW • In the PSW, it will be common knowledge that people break deathbed promises whenever they think they can do much more good for humanity

  6. Case 1: Q1 • Would it be rational to adopt and act on my maxim in the PSW? • No. In the PSW no one would ask for deathbed promises, because everyone would know that they are not genuine commitments. The maxim would not be an effective policy for promoting human welfare.

  7. Case 1: Kantian analysis • Martha should not act on her maxim, since it fails the contradiction in conception test (Q1)

  8. Case 1: Q2? • Could I rationally choose the PSW? • This question not relevant unless answer to Q1 is yes. • Answer would be “no” if having a viable practice of deathbed promising would be a basic need in a community of rational agents.

  9. Utilitarian analysis • Specify the options • Specify possible consequences for each option • For each option, estimate the probability of each of its consequences • For each option, estimate the “utility” of each of its consequences • Identify the best prospect

  10. Case 1: Options • O1: Keep the promise • O2: Give the money to the Hunger Task Force

  11. Case 1: Consequences, probabilities, utilities

  12. Case 1: Best prospect • Since keeping the promise is certain to have only a small impact on human welfare, whereas giving the money to HTF is very likely to have a much bigger impact, with only a small chance of producing an outcome that is somewhat worse (though not very much worse), giving the money to HTF is the best prospect.

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