“The Age of Stupid”

1. “The Age of Stupid” • Do we know what’s going to happen by / in 2055? • Can we know? (How does the problem of induction bear on this?) • What obligations do we have to present people in this context? • Which present people? • How far are these obligations in conflict with those we might have to future people? • Do we have genuine obligations to future people?

2. I think I’ll give £10 to disaster relief. Please help us, we are dying over here... I think I’ll use private transport a bit less. Please keep some of the natural world around for us.

3. What gets us to do things? Other people Our own desires and feelings (what we want to do) • By compelling us • muggers • bullies • enemy soldiers • .... • By having a claim on us • parents • policemen • other team members • ..... (against our will) (often what we don’t really want to do...?)

4. If X has a claim on Y, Y has an obligation to X To whom do we have obligations, and why? • parents (they look after you and bring you up) • policemen (they have legal authority over you) • other team members (you have “signed up” to co-operate with them as part of the team) • people we’ve made promises to (we owe them whatever we promised) • ........etc.

5. Do we have any obligations to everyone? (are there claims everyone has on us?) Moral obligations : • Tell the truth • Be fair • Help people when you can • Don’t hurt people if you can avoid it • .....etc.

6. How does obligation work? (i.e. make you do what you don’t really want to do?) • I missed the bus so I was obliged to walk. (I didn’t want to, but it was the only way to get to school and I didn’t want to miss school) • I promised to water her aspidistra every day, so I was obliged to go round there daily and do it. (It was a chore, but I didn’t want her yelling at me after she got back) • She asked me directly, so I was obliged to tell her the truth. (I didn’t want a lie on my conscience....)

8. “The voice of conscience” Feeling guilty Feeling bad about ourselves Feeling sorry for other people ..... We don’t want these feelings, so we act morally...? We want to do the right thing more than we want to satisfy our selfish desires. But if the hold obligations have over us depends on what we want, do they really have any hold over us?

9. The voice of conscience – moral rules Mill: do what will produce the best overall outcome for everyone. God: obey My Commandments. Kant: don’t act in any way that you couldn’t will as a principle for everyone to act on. Aquinas: obey the natural law of God-given reason.

10. Actually, on careful reflection, I found that I wanted the money MORE than I wanted a clear conscience...

11. So how does moral obligation get its grip? We are involved with other people in moral practices or conventions. These license them to • praise us • reward us • etc. when we behave according to the moral rules, and • disapprove of us • condemn us • distrust us • etc. when we don’t. This certainly helps to keep us on the straight and narrow... But can it be all there is to it?