Transcript Review: Utilitarian Moral theory

Review: Utilitarian Moral
Theory
• 利 害 li-haibenefit-harm standard selects social
discourse 道 daoguide
– Everyone's guiding rules, attitudes norms
– Reform tradition--shocking resultsmoral
reform impasse
• Partial solution: Rule out collectively selfdefeating moralities
– Morally oppose themselves as public morality
– Like Socrates, doesn't tell us the correct morality
• And not technically inconsistent
• Just can't be publicly acknowledged
Other Mencius Background
• Yang Zhu: Ethical egoism
– Not psychological--people are naturally social
• But shouldn't be--authority of天 tiannature:sky
• Command 命in form of life capacity氣
• Classification of ethics
– Metaethics: Socrates knowable, Confucius
traditional (?)
– Moral psychology: West egoistic, ConfuciusMozi-Yang social
– Normative theory: Confucius: 禮liritual, Mozi 利
libenefit Yang woI 我
Mencius Response
• Prefers not to 辯 biandistinction dispute but must
respond to Yang and Mo
– Use Yang to answer Mo
– Natural, inborn capacity, but more detail
• Strategy in burial argument
– Tradition arises from "natural inclinations"
– Commanded by 天 tiannature:sky and not mere
convention
Four Beginnings 端
• The心 xinheart-mind has four impulse
patterns
• Lead to the four classic virtues
–側隱compassion 仁benevolence
–羞惡shame 義 yimorality
–辭 讓deference  禮liritual
–是非shi/feithis:right/not this:wrong 智zhiwisdom
Questions
Quiz 3. This sentence is false.
Why is the above sentence a paradox? Is “All
language distorts the Dao” also a paradox?
Explain.
Notice Mid-Term Questions
Stories:
• Child by the well and 仁renhumanity
– Problems as answer tMozi
– Problems as a defense of Confucianism
• Strong and Weak versions
– Weak is probably shared by Yang-Mo
– Strong is implausible for禮liritual – where it is
needed
• Mozi's influence --仁renhumanity 義yimorality
• Interesting problem for義yimorality
Developmental Innatism:
• Plant analogy
– Morality not fully known at birth
• Soil = economic climate
• Water + nourishment = selfreflection
– Valuing one’s inclination
• Seed = innate tendencies
– The spontaneous, pre-social reactions
• Sprout = beginning reactions
• Weeds = selfish desires
– Problem of evil
Sagehood Ideal
• Banyan tree = sagehood
– Universal concern
• Flood-like浩 然之氣qibreath
• Heart and智zhiwisdom responsiveness
– Language too coarse, imprecise
• Situational shi-feithis-not this是 非
– Combine judgment and inclination
– Spontaneous and natural
– 氣qibreath link ? Unclear
Two Principles
• Link fact & duty:
– "Is-ought": “is” does not imply “ought”
• Undermines appeal to nature
– "Ought-can:" ought implies can
• Is moral reform possible
• Can't get an 'ought' from an 'is'
– Why follow the heart? Why follow天tiannature:sky
– Distinguishing feature
– Health (like finger)
Mencius and Daoism
• Prefers not to 辯 biandistinction dispute
– Doesn’t like language
– Doesn’t need language: intuition
• Foolish man and plants
• Don’t force growth with theory (language and
distinctions)
Daoism: Early History
• Hermits and Yang Zhu 楊朱: No theory
of道
• First theoretical Daoist: Shen Dao慎 到
– Natural performance daoguide道
– Sum of all actual performance 道daoguides is
the great dao 大 道
– You will follow大 道—no knowledge of道
needed
Three Determinisms
• Logical, Scientific, Fatalistic
– What will be will be, by predictable laws, out of
human control
– 慎 到draws fatalistic conclusion from logical
determinism
• Paradox of "abandon knowledge"
– 道 Dao as the object of knowledge
– Obey it only if you ignore it
Laozi老子
• Textual issues
• The Zhuangzi's history
– Between Shendao and Zhuangzi
• Abandon knowledge w/o relying on
fatalism
– Argument from freedom from social
control
– Spontaneity
Analysis of "Knowledge"
• Discourse 道 daos: come in
opposites
–Names 名(opposites)
–Distinctions (implied: one per pair)
–Desires 欲
• Innovation in seeing desires generated by
names/distinctions
– 為 weideem:do action
Problem: Same Paradox?
• Distinction of natural and conventional
desires
– Forms of social constraint
– Language distorts by gross distinction while
there are infinite shades in nature
• Desire to be natural
• Act on the desire (forgetting)
• 無 為 wulack weideem:do a paradox
– Wu-wei and yet wu-bu-wei無不為
– no concept guided action
No Constant Dao
• 道可道非常道 Any dao that guides is not
constant dao-ing
• Because based on 名 and
– 名可名非常名 Any name that names is not
constant name-ing
• Negative 道 daoguide by emphasizing
opposite virtues
– Passive, lower, water, cool, submissive,
female
– Constant 道 daoguide ? Unspeakable?
Relevance to Mencius
• The intuitions that Confucians think are
natural are socially cultivated
– Burial, filial piety, attitudes to authority
– Status, wealth, style
• Hong Kong slavery
– Innate天 道 is very thin
• Eat, sleep, children, farm, small villages
Common Anti-language Problem
• 墨 辯 Mohist semantic analysis:
– To say “language bad” is bad
– Paradox of the liar
• This sentence is false
• All Sentences are false
– Not a paradox
– But false
• Challenge to Zhuangzi
Puzzle
• All language distorts the 道 dao
• Distorts the 道 dao