Kant (4)

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Kant (4)

• Case studies

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CI procedure reviewed

• Propose a maxim
• Generalize
• Transform into law of nature
• Figure out PSW
• Q1 Would it be rational to adopt and act on the
  maxim in the PSW?
• Q2 Could I rationally choose the PSW?

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Case 1 Marthas predicament

• Martha, as a home-service medical care volunteer,
  has cared for George through the final weeks of
  his fatal illness. Just before he died, George
  told Martha where a large sum of money he had
  accumulated was stored. He asked her to see that
  the money was given to the Society for Protection
  against Alien Control of the Earth (SPACE).
  Since George's illness did not affect his mental
  capacity, she agreed. But now that he has died,
  she is considering using the money to support the
  activities of the local Hunger Task Force, an
  organization that provides donated food to those
  who need it. George has no surviving friends or
  relatives, and no one else knows about the money.
  He left no written will.

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Case 1 Marthas maxim

• Need to fill in form I am to do x in
  circumstances y in order to promote z
• x break a deathbed promise
• y Breaking the promise will allow me to do much
  more good for humanity
• z the goal of increasing human welfare

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Case 1 the PSW

• In the PSW, it will be common knowledge that
  people break deathbed promises whenever they
  think they can do much more good for humanity

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Case 1 Q1

• Would it be rational to adopt and act on my maxim
  in the PSW?
• No. In the PSW no one would ask for deathbed
  promises, because everyone would know that they
  are not genuine commitments. The maxim would not
  be an effective policy for promoting human
  welfare.

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Case 1 Kantian analysis

• Martha should not act on her maxim, since it
  fails the contradiction in conception test (Q1)

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Case 1 Q2?

• Could I rationally choose the PSW?
• This question not relevant unless answer to Q1 is
  yes.
• Answer would be no if having a viable practice
  of deathbed promising would be a basic need in a
  community of rational agents.

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Utilitarian analysis

• Specify the options
• Specify possible consequences for each option
• For each option, estimate the probability of each
  of its consequences
• For each option, estimate the utility of each
  of its consequences
• Identify the best prospect

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Case 1 Options

• O1 Keep the promise
• O2 Give the money to the Hunger Task Force

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Case 1 Consequences, probabilities, utilities
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Case 1 Best prospect

• Since keeping the promise is certain to have only
  a small impact on human welfare, whereas giving
  the money to HTF is very likely to have a much
  bigger impact, with only a small chance of
  producing an outcome that is somewhat worse
  (though not very much worse), giving the money to
  HTF is the best prospect.