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On the desire to make a difference.
- Source :
-
Philosophical Studies . Jul2024, Vol. 181 Issue 6/7, p1599-1626. 28p. - Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- True benevolence is, most fundamentally, a desire that the world be better. It is natural and common, however, to frame thinking about benevolence indirectly, in terms of a desire to make a difference to how good the world is. This would be an innocuous shift if desires to make a difference were extensionally equivalent to desires that the world be better. This paper shows that at least on some common ways of making a "desire to make a difference" precise, this extensional equivalence fails. Where it fails, "difference-making preferences" run counter to the ideals of benevolence. In particular, in the context of decision making under uncertainty, coupling a "difference-making" framing in a natural way with risk aversion leads to preferences that violate stochastic dominance, and that lead to a strong form of collective defeat, from the point of view of betterness. Difference-making framings and true benevolence are not strictly mutually inconsistent, but agents seeking to implement true benevolence must take care to avoid the various pitfalls that we outline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *BENEVOLENCE
*STOCHASTIC dominance
*RISK aversion
*AMBIGUITY
*UNCERTAINTY
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00318116
- Volume :
- 181
- Issue :
- 6/7
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Philosophical Studies
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 178209392
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-024-02102-0