Suppositional Desires and Rational Choice Under Moral Uncertainty
This paper presents a unifying diagnosis of a number of important problems facing existing models of rational choice under moral uncertainty and proposes a remedy. I argue that the problems of (i) severely limited scope, (ii) intertheoretic comparisons, and (iii) 'swamping’ all stem from the wa...
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| Language: | English |
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Michigan Publishing
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Ergo, An Open Access Journal of Philosophy |
| Online Access: | https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/ergo/article/id/7303/ |
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| author | Nicholas Makins |
| author_facet | Nicholas Makins |
| author_sort | Nicholas Makins |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper presents a unifying diagnosis of a number of important problems facing existing models of rational choice under moral uncertainty and proposes a remedy. I argue that the problems of (i) severely limited scope, (ii) intertheoretic comparisons, and (iii) 'swamping’ all stem from the way in which values are assigned to options in decision rules such as Maximisation of Expected Choiceworthiness. By assigning values to options under a given moral theory by asking something like “how much do I desire this option, supposing this theory is true?” rather than “how much value does this theory assign to this option?” these problems can be avoided, while the appealing features of these accounts can be preserved. This amendment provides a role for the preferences, desires, or goals of rational agents that is curiously absent from the existing discussion of what individuals rationally ought to do when they are uncertain about what they morally ought to do. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2c917180cc314c80aa85f59a2afe61a1 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2330-4014 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Michigan Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ergo, An Open Access Journal of Philosophy |
| spelling | doaj-art-2c917180cc314c80aa85f59a2afe61a12025-08-20T01:53:57ZengMichigan PublishingErgo, An Open Access Journal of Philosophy2330-40142025-04-0112010.3998/ergo.7303Suppositional Desires and Rational Choice Under Moral UncertaintyNicholas Makins0Philosophy, King's College LondonThis paper presents a unifying diagnosis of a number of important problems facing existing models of rational choice under moral uncertainty and proposes a remedy. I argue that the problems of (i) severely limited scope, (ii) intertheoretic comparisons, and (iii) 'swamping’ all stem from the way in which values are assigned to options in decision rules such as Maximisation of Expected Choiceworthiness. By assigning values to options under a given moral theory by asking something like “how much do I desire this option, supposing this theory is true?” rather than “how much value does this theory assign to this option?” these problems can be avoided, while the appealing features of these accounts can be preserved. This amendment provides a role for the preferences, desires, or goals of rational agents that is curiously absent from the existing discussion of what individuals rationally ought to do when they are uncertain about what they morally ought to do.https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/ergo/article/id/7303/ |
| spellingShingle | Nicholas Makins Suppositional Desires and Rational Choice Under Moral Uncertainty Ergo, An Open Access Journal of Philosophy |
| title | Suppositional Desires and Rational Choice Under Moral Uncertainty |
| title_full | Suppositional Desires and Rational Choice Under Moral Uncertainty |
| title_fullStr | Suppositional Desires and Rational Choice Under Moral Uncertainty |
| title_full_unstemmed | Suppositional Desires and Rational Choice Under Moral Uncertainty |
| title_short | Suppositional Desires and Rational Choice Under Moral Uncertainty |
| title_sort | suppositional desires and rational choice under moral uncertainty |
| url | https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/ergo/article/id/7303/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nicholasmakins suppositionaldesiresandrationalchoiceundermoraluncertainty |