Understanding Particularism

Theoria 71 (2):118-137 (2005)
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Abstract

Adherents of particularism draw rather strong implications of this view. However, particularism has never been stated in a canonical way. We locate the core of particularism as a claim about how different reasons combine to generate the Tightness or wrongness of an action. Using the notion of an ordering of alternatives containing separable factors, we show that particularism can be stated more generally as the denial that there exist separable factors.With this definition in place, we show that, once subjected to a number of clarifications, particularism largely does have the implications often associated with it. However, we find the various arguments that have been given in support of particularism to be very poor. We conclude that particularists do have a point when they claim that some form of generalism cannot simply be taken for granted. But no particular reasons in favour of being a particularist have been offered.

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Citations of this work

What’s the Use of an Intrinsic Property?Carrie Figdor - 2014 - In Robert M. Francescotti (ed.), Companion to Intrinsic Properties. De Gruyter. pp. 139-156.
Does Particularism Solve the Moral Problem?Kasper Lippert–Rasmussen - 2002 - Philosophical Explorations 5 (2):125-140.

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References found in this work

Freedom and reason.Richard Mervyn Hare - 1963 - Oxford,: Clarendon Press.
Moral reasons.Jonathan Dancy - 1993 - Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell.
Virtue and Reason.John Mcdowell - 1979 - The Monist 62 (3):331-350.
Active and passive euthanasia.James Rachels - 1975 - In Steven M. Cahn (ed.), Exploring Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology. Oxford University Press.

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