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The concept of prima facie duties, as proposed by British philosopher W.D. Ross in his book 'The Right and the Good'. Prima facie duties refer to acts that have moral reasons in favor of or against them, which can be outweighed by other moral considerations. Ross identified several prima facie duties, including fidelity, reparations, gratitude, justice, beneficence, self-improvement, and non-maleficence. Rossian Pluralism suggests that an act is morally right if it has the greatest balance of prima facie rightness over prima facie wrongness. This document also discusses Ross' argument against utilitarianism using the example of promises.
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“If I have promised to meet a friend at a particular time for some trivial purpose, I should certainly think myself justified in breaking my engagement if by doing so I could prevent a serious accident or bring relief to the victims of one.”
... right acts can be distinguished from wrong acts only as being those which, of all those possible for the agent in the circumstances, have the greatest balance of prima facie rightness ... over their prima facie wrongness ... .”
εν τη αισθησει η κρισις. Aristotle That’s right, Aristotle. The decision rests with perception. Ross
an abstract illustration of Ross’ Theory Prima facie duties Alternatives → a1 a2 a
the right act, according to Ross’ Theory
Ross’ Theory is a form of “deontology.” Deontology is the view that it can be permissible, and perhaps even obligatory, not to do what would have the best outcome. Deontology is thus the denial of consequentialism. Deontological theories often believe in:
- constraints : rules that forbid (either absolutely or^ prima facie ) certain kinds of action (e.g., lying, harming the innocent) - options : agents are often permitted to favor their own projects and interests, to the detriment of overall happiness. - duties of special relationship : that we are sometimes required to favor the interests of those we stand in special relationships to (e.g., parent-child, teacher-student, friend- friend), to the detriment of overall happiness.
Ross’ Argument from Promises against Utilitarianism Alternatives benefit to A benefit to B Hedonic Utility keep promise to A 1,000 0 1, break promise to A 0 1,001 1, and help B instead
Some Problems for Rossian Pluralism