zompist wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2024 7:23 pm
Sure you have; it's the position of many religions. Morality comes from God, or is inherently evident, and doing right is more important than doing good (if these conflict).
I have seen religious people explicitly calling for deontology. I only mean to say they are not the demographic associated with the slogan, "The ends don't justify the means."
zompist wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2024 7:23 pm
The thing is, outside of philosophy class, everyone takes both positions.
I wonder if you know how deep this rabbit hole goes. I have read arguments that people should adopt deontology because studies show happy, healthy adults are instinctively deontologists. Anyone who picks at their deontological instincts is damaging their mental health.
The problem is that Eichmann justified following orders by citing Kantian ethics. If committing genocide is the only way humans can remain sane, perhaps mental health is itself immoral.
zompist wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2024 7:23 pm
It's perfectly rational to say "Even if death camps would solve some problem, we should not build death camps." And at the same time to say "Though such-and-such a rule is generally good, blindly following it causes too much misery."
I don't know if it's rational to say this. It's probably rational to say, "Death camps should not be built because they bring misery."
zompist wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2024 7:23 pm
Now, putting everything together in a perfect ethical system is tricky. But, maybe systems are themselves problematic... see Raphael's book.
Bought it, read it, rated it 5 stars.
People who are interested in a critique of systems in general should read Bertrand Russell. I do have to say, though, the first time I read him, I didn't realize how much privilege is visible through his writings.
The problem with doing away with systems is that when xxx tells you about his new colonial empire, your response will boil down to, "Personally, I don't enjoy your genocidal intentions! Bleh!" But if you are religious, you get to call down avenging angels from the sky! IIRC when John Nash was asked about his schizophrenia, he said although he at first believed his hallucinations because they came from the same part of his mind as his mathematical insights, he went along with them for so long because he enjoyed them. It's when he grew out of enjoying them that he was able to approach a semblance of sanity.