Philosophy Colloquium
There will be a colloquium on Thursday, March 13 at 4:00 pm in ABAH 345.
All are welcome to attend.
Scott Forschler
Minneapolis Community and Technical College, North Hennepin Community
College, Northland Community and Technical College
"Morality as a System of Justificatory Rules"
Abstract
This paper shows how to derive fundamental ethical norms from
practical reason. I argue that any justification of intentional action
must be expressible as a justificatory syllogism, the major premise of
which is a justificatory rule stating that under specified conditions,
the pursuit of a specified end is justified. Potential conflicts
between these rules and the ends they purportedly justify must be
adjudicated with higher-order rules which specify when exceptions can be
made to lower-order rules. I argue that such conflicts can only be
resolved via the endorsement of three very general higher-order rules,
specifying the ultimate ground of justification, our obligations to
improve the information on which we act as well as our general capacity
to be rational agents, and our obligations with respect to others’
justified ends. These rules broadly encompass several widely-shared and
defensible moral views, and their derivation from the logic of practical
reason can explain the perceived universality and objectivity of
morality.