Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Scientific Underdetermination and the Analogy to Ethics
- Part II Underdetermination in Normative Ethics
- Chapter 3 Parfit and the Case Study of Case Studies
- Chapter 4 Going Algorithmic
- Chapter 5 The Big Picture in Normative Ethics
- Part III Skepticism and a New Metaethical Position
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 3 - Parfit and the Case Study of Case Studies
from Part II - Underdetermination in Normative Ethics
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 March 2025
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Scientific Underdetermination and the Analogy to Ethics
- Part II Underdetermination in Normative Ethics
- Chapter 3 Parfit and the Case Study of Case Studies
- Chapter 4 Going Algorithmic
- Chapter 5 The Big Picture in Normative Ethics
- Part III Skepticism and a New Metaethical Position
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Chapter 3 is concerned with what is arguablythe most in-depth case study of moral underdetermination to date: Derek Parfit’s argument in On What Matters to the effect that the best versions of three of the most famous moral traditions arrive at the same verdicts about what matters. I start with some historical background, sketching how both J. S. Mill and Richard Hare challenged the assumption that Kantianism and consequentialism are necessarily incompatible. I then turn to Parfit.Since Parfit himself does not think of his project in terms of underdetermination, my argument here requires a two-step approach. First, I outline how Parfit challenges the Textbook View, focusing on his Convergence Argument. Second, I turn to the interpretation of these results. I discuss two interpretations that are suggested by Parfit’s writing, arguing that neither of them is convincing. I then argue that contra Parfit’s own understanding, the best way to think of the results of the Convergence Argument is in terms of moral underdetermination.If my argument is successful, the chapter thus introduces one very detailed and very prominent case study of moral underdetermination.
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- Information
- The Underdetermination of Moral Theories , pp. 73 - 88Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
- Creative Commons
- This content is Open Access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/cclicenses/