The Repugnant Conclusion: Essays on Population EthicsJesper Ryberg, Torbjörn Tännsjö Most people (including moral philosophers), when faced with the fact that some of their cherished moral views lead up to the Repugnant Conclusion, feel that they have to revise their moral outlook. However, it is a moot question as to how this should be done. It is not an easy thing to say how one should avoid the Repugnant Conclusion, without having to face even more serious implications from one's basic moral outlook. Several such attempts are presented in this volume. This is the first volume devoted entirely to the cardinal problem of modern population ethics, known as 'The Repugnant Conclusion'. This book is a must for (moral) philosophers with an interest in population ethics. |
Contents
| 1 | |
TWO PARFIT PUZZLES | 23 |
CRITICALLEVEL POPULATION PRINCIPLES AND | 45 |
O REPUGNANCE WHERE IS THY STING? Clark Wolf | 61 |
RESOLVING THE REPUGNANT CONCLUSION | 81 |
PERSONBASED CONSEQUENTIALISM AND THE 99 | 98 |
PERSONAFFECTING MORALITIES | 129 |
THE ROOT OF THE REPUGNANT CONCLUSION AND | 187 |
THE PARADOXES OF FUTURE GENERATIONS 201 | 200 |
WHY WE OUGHT TO ACCEPT THE REPUGNANT CONCLUSION | 219 |
THE REPUGNANT CONCLUSION AND WORTHWHILE LIVING | 239 |
POSTSCRIPT 257 | 258 |
Other editions - View all
The Repugnant Conclusion: Essays on Population Ethics Jesper Ryberg,Torbjörn Tännsjö Limited preview - 2007 |
The Repugnant Conclusion: Essays on Population Ethics Jesper Ryberg,Torbjörn Tännsjö No preview available - 2010 |
The Repugnant Conclusion: Essays on Population Ethics Jesper Ryberg,Torbjörn Tännsjö No preview available - 2004 |
Common terms and phrases
according Addition Paradox agents AHPP Alpha alternative argue argument Arrhenius average avoid the Repugnant axiological barely worth living better worse billion Blackorby bound child claim comparisons consequentialism consequentialist consider counterintuitive critical level Derek Parfit discussion Donaldson equal evaluations example fact future happy Heyd Holtug individuals inequality intransitivity intuitions involves least level of wellbeing lexical level live lives Mere Addition Paradox misery moral significance moral theory muzak and potatoes negative negative utilitarian neutral level normal privileged normative objection Omega outcome outweighed overpopulation choice overpopulation problem Pascal's Wager permissible Person-affecting Principle person-based Petersburg Paradox plausible pleasure population ethics positive possible prefer Rachels Reasons and Persons reject Repugnant Conclusion Ryberg strong sadistic conclusion Stuart Rachels suffering supervenient Suppose Tännsjö Temkin things TORBJÖRN TÄNNSJÖ total utility utilitarianism utility distribution utility level Utility Monster welfare well-being wide person-affecting worse-off worth not living wrong
Popular passages
Page 2 - ... population enjoy on the whole positive happiness, we ought to weigh the amount of happiness gained by the extra number against the amount lost by the remainder. So that, strictly conceived, the point up to which, on utilitarian principles, population ought to be encouraged to increase, is not that at which average happiness is the greatest possible - as appears to be often assumed by political economists of the school of Malthus - but that at which the product formed by multiplying the number...