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Chapter 9 - Depolarization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2023

Martin Peterson
Affiliation:
Texas A & M University
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Summary

The topic of this chapter is how rational agents should revise their opinions if they accept the gradualist hypothesis, and discover that others have moral opinions that differ from their own. I defend the following moral convergence thesis: All rational moral peers who accept the axioms of the probability calculus will adopt the same opinions with the same credence, regardless of what their initial opinions are. My argument for the moral convergence thesis builds on recent work in epistemology. I define moral peers as agents who have access to the same information and are equally likely to evaluate the acceptability of a moral claim correctly, but I leave it open what it means to say that a moral claim is evaluated “correctly”. The moral convergence thesis is a strong claim, but it can be supported by a general argument. This argument has some limitations, which are explored in a series of computer simulations.

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Ethics in the Gray Area
A Gradualist Theory of Right and Wrong
, pp. 184 - 203
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Depolarization
  • Martin Peterson, Texas A & M University
  • Book: Ethics in the Gray Area
  • Online publication: 11 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009336772.011
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  • Depolarization
  • Martin Peterson, Texas A & M University
  • Book: Ethics in the Gray Area
  • Online publication: 11 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009336772.011
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Depolarization
  • Martin Peterson, Texas A & M University
  • Book: Ethics in the Gray Area
  • Online publication: 11 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009336772.011
Available formats
×