Utilitarianism and Psychological Realism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12228134 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sophie Rietti (University of Ottawa, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 347-367 |
| Publication date | 2009-08-21 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Utilitas (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0953-8208 • E-ISSN: 1741-6183 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0953820809990094 |
| OpenAlex | W2141018876 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 22 |
Utilitarianism has frequently been criticized for lacking psychological realism, but what this means and why it is thought to matter varies. This article distinguishes and examines three main relevant kinds of appeals to psychological realism: (a) A minimalist, self-avowedly metaethically neutral and empirically based ‘ought implies can’ approach, exemplified by Owen Flanagan. (b) Arguments from psychological costs and flourishing, exemplified by Michael Stocker and Bernard Williams. (c) ‘Thick’ psychological realism, exemplified by Elizabeth Anscombe, where a conception of human nature does not simply provide constraints on value theory, but forms the substantive basis on which it builds. The main challenge raised for utilitarianism turns out to be metaethical, not a matter of empirical psychology. The question is not so much whether utilitarianism can accommodate (putative) descriptive facts of human psychology as such, but what normative weight these facts should be given and why
Economics · Empirical psychology · Epistemology · Flourishing · Moral psychology · Moral realism · Normative · Philosophical realism · Positive economics · Realism · Sociology · Theoretical psychology · Utilitarianism · Value (mathematics · Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology · Ethics in medical practice · Mathematics · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology
Anarchy, State, and Utopia
The Schizophrenia of Modern Ethical Theories
Alienation, Consequentialism, and the Demands of Morality (1984)
Famine, Affluence and Morality
Moral Saints
Anarchy, State, and Utopia
Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy
Utilitarianism
Famine, Affluence, and Morality
Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy
Modern Moral Philosophy
Feeling Utilitarian
Consequentialism and the Principle of Indifference
The Self-other Asymmetry and Act-utilitarianism
Consequentialism and Cluelessness
The Limits Of Human Nature
| Highly cited | No |
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