Should Fred Elicit Our Derision or Our Compassion?

The central point by Philippa Foot is that there are some concepts not understood well but which are essential to genuine discussions of the merits of different moral systems. Steve Cahn has no such reservations as shown in his paper The Happy Immoralist. Cahn's example gains whatever plausibility it has by featuring some of the things that many people associate with happiness. Cahn's point may not be subjectivism but the importance of diversity. Different things make different people happy. Foot's point, however, is that human nature seems to impose some limits on this diversity. Moreover, there is room for great variation in valuable human relationships, but happiness without any friendship is another matter. Human beings are enormously dependent on one another. None could survive the early stages of life, and usually the latter stages, without the love and concern of others. This suggest that friendship is fundamental to the well-being of human beings. This puts in doubt the plausibility of Cahn's example. So too does his depiction of his character Fred as thoroughly dishonest while having a reputation for probity. Cahn's discussion has troublesome normative overtones.