Regan on Vegetarianism

Like Singer, Regan wants to provide an argument for vegetarianism. Unlike Singer, Regan does not want to base his argument on utilitarianism. Instead, Regan thinks that animal rights are the way to defend vegetarianism. We can think of rights in three ways. A legal right is a right granted by a legal authority. A natural right is what people talk about when they think that there is a naturally given right that people (or animals) ought to have. A moral right is just the other side of a moral obligation or duty. If someone has a duty to do X for you, then you have a right to have them do X. Regan is concerned with rights of the second and third kind. Regean claims that Singer's strongest arguments in favor of vegetarianism are arguments based on animals rights. Specifically, it seems that animals have a right to life.

Why might we think that animals have a right to life? Regan thinks that although Singer is wrong to base his arguments in utilitarianism, there is something right about focusing on an animal's capacity for pain. Regan says that the capacity for suffering is the basis of a right to life, or a right to live. He notes even though some humans are non-rational, they still have similar capacities for suffering as non-human animals. Regan says that the reasons why we don't eat non-rational human beings apply to animals as well. Namely, we don't eat non-rational human beings because they have the capacity to suffer. This capacity to suffer is the basis of a right to life. Regan notes that a rights-based approach is better equipped to explain why we do not kill and eat non-rational humans better than utilitarianism, Kantian ethics and egoism (self-interest).

Singer, Utilitarianism, and Vegetarianism

Singer argues that if one accepts utilitarianism, then one must also accept vegetarianism. Basically, if you accept that pain is morally bad, then eating meat is bad on the grounds that is causes pain to animals.

1. If Utilitarianism is true, then pain and pleasure are the basis of all moral value.

2. Animals experience pleasure and pain.

3. If pleasure and pain are the basis of all moral value, then animals are morally significant.

4. So, if utilitarianism is true, then animals are morally significant.

Singer notes that there are three ways that this kind of argument seems to fall short of supporting full-fledged vegetarianism. First, it seems like utilitarianism gives good reason only to avoid certain kinds of sourcing meat. Specifically, it seems like factory farming should be avoided but that free-range organic methods of raising animals are morally neutral or good. Singer replies by reminding the reader that A) most meat on the market is from factory farms and B) even if we raise livestock in humane ways before we kill and eat it, even the mere act of killing animals puts us on a slippery slope towards further harm towards animals. Second, someone might object that the consequences of abolishing factory farming are worse than the consequences of business as usual. Singer notes that many things must be taken into account: the potential loss of happiness of vegetarians, the loss of livelihood of producers of factory-farmed products, environmental consequences, global and individual health concerns and the suffering of animals. Even if the loss to those employed by the industrial livestock industry were greater than the suffering animals are caused now, Singer notes that this would be a one-time loss of happiness, whereas business as usual means the continued suffering of animals. Third, Singer note that some people may think that consequentialist analysis cannot lead to the conclusion of vegetarianism. Consider, for example, that it may take ten thousand vegetarians to save the lives of twenty thousand chickens. Unless you are the ten thousandth vegetarian, then you will not meet a threshold needed to save those chickens. But Singers says that consequentialists act based on likely outcomes, so being certain that I save ten chickens is just as good as being the single vegetarian responsible for saving twenty thousand chickens. Perhaps this is not his best point. But he notes that refusing to consume meat is the most straightforward and practical step to limit meat consumption. Also, by refusing to eat meat, one expresses condemnation for a practice that causes animals to suffer. Either way, Singer thinks that utilitarianism will lead to vegetarianism.

Korsgaard on 2 Senses of 'Good'

Korsgaard distinguishes between two ways that we use the word 'good'. First, there is the everyday 'evaluative' sense of the word. For example, when we call something a good book, a good car, a good pair of shoes, a good cup of coffee, etc. In the evaluative sense, a thing is good according to our goals. There is also the 'final' sense of good, i.e., 'the good'. This sense of the word means something like the final aim or total goodness for a thing. This is often thought to be something that is good for it's own sake (good in itself). In this paper, Korsgaard is concerned with the nature of 'the good'.

She then contrasts three theories about the final good. Intrinsic good theory is the theory that goodness is a real property of an object. For example, an action is morally good as a matter of fact in the same way that my new shoes are red. Hedonism is the theory that the final good is what makes us happy. Eudaimonism is the theory that the final good is to function well or to have one's own biological organism in a state of well-being. Korsgaard argues that the benefit of a eudaimonistic theory is that it can explain the relationship between evaluative good and final good. In order to explain this, she introduces the extended-evaluative sense of the word. To be good in the extended-evaluative sense means to be good for some purpose and also be be functioning healthily. In this sense, to have a final good just means to be aware of oneself as being in good condition. In other words, having a final good means being able to take an evaluative approach to one's own life. As such, the final good requires some level of reflexivity. In other words, to have a final good, one must be aware of one's final good. It seems that rational consciousness either introduces another kind of final good or it is a more complex awareness of one's own final good. Either way, having a final good requires reflexivity.

Korsgaard on Agency

In this article, Korsgaard is concerned with agency. Agency is the ability to perform actions. Someone who can perform actions is an agent. Korsgaard describes two different kinds of theories about agency: the normative account and the natural account. On the natural account, an action is just what happens when there is a causal relationship between a belief and a behavior. This is a purely descriptive account. The normative account of agency is not purely descriptive. On the normative account, an action only happens if the agent's beliefs and actions are organized in a certain way. For example, Plato's account of agency includes the theory that an action is performed only if one's rational capacity is in control of the other parts of the person (spirit and appetite). Kant's account of agency includes the theory that an action is performed only when an agent reflectively considers the axiom that is guiding his action and then proceeds only if the axiom can be made universal law. Korsgaard thinks that any natural account of agency must also be supplemented with a normative account because only a normative account of agency can explain two implications that arise when we attribute agency.

When we attribute agency to someone, Korsgaard says there are two resulting implications. First, it seems like an action is somehow expressive of who a person is and the agent has some kind of ownership over his or her actions. She calls this the identity implication. In other words, actions express the identity of a person. Second, actions can fail in a way that simple causal linkages cannot. For example, the action of dodging a ball has a goal of avoiding being hit by a ball. Even if I move my body in response to a belief or desire, my action has failed if my goal has not been met. Korsgaard calls this the activity implication. Only a normative account of agency can help to explain these two implications.

Heidegger on Dwelling

Heidegger notes that buliding is the manner in which mortals dwell on earth. To dwell is more than to simply reside or have an address somewhere. To dwell requires a certain receptivity. To dwell requires to reveal the Fourfold. What is the fourfold? The fourfold is a unity of four different things. Each of the four parts of the fourfold can only be truly understood in relationship with the other parts. First, there are the mortals. Mortals dwell on this earth and have the capacity to regard their death as death; this just means that we can think of death not just as a stopping point of our lives but as something that unifies and brings meaning to our lives. We can imagine that our lives will end in the sense that a big project has come an end. Second, there is the earth. The earth is what nourishes us and sustains us. The earth is where we get the resources for our projects. Third is the sky. The sky represents open possibilities. Whereas the earth is grounded in practical possibilities, the sky is open. Fourth are divinities. Divinities are inherently beyond human comprehension.

To dwell, then, means to reveal these four things in association with one another. A peasant farmhouse makes a place to divinities to be welcomed as divinities--which means that we wait for divinities as something unknown. The roof of a farmhouse is steep to avoid snow building up. This represents a way in which dwelling requires the ability to be open to possibilities. Also, the farmhouse is placed on the protected side of a mountain. This shows how the dwelling takes advantage of practical possibilities already present on the earth. And this is a place of dwelling for mortals as it serves our human purposes.

Heidegger on Technology

When Heidegger talks about the 'essence of technology', he is not concerned with specific technologies (iPads, cell phones, hydroelectric dams, etc.). Rather, he is concerned with a technological attitude, or way of approaching things. In this sense, technology is a way of uncovering the truth about things. The traditional theory of truth is that sentences are true when they correspond to reality. Heidegger's theory of truth is that things are true when they are uncovered as themselves. Technology is one way of uncovering things. All acts of uncovering are dangerous. To uncover one thing is to cover up another thing. Think about digging a hole in the dirt. When you dig up one thing, the dirt you removed has to go somewhere. The kind of uncovering that characterizes the essence of technology is Gestell, or enframing. Enframing is a way of uncovering things that necessarily prevents other modes of uncovering and revealing. Technological enframing reveals all things as energy to be unlocked, transformed, transferred and stored.

Sartre

Sartre says that the basic premise of existentialism is that for humans, existence precedes essence.  In other words, a person must exist before she has an essence (character, personality). 

Existentialism has been accused of 1) emphasizing all that is despicable about humanity, 2) encouraging inaction and despair, 3) undermining the validity of human existence, and 4) undermining human solidarity by focusing on subjectivity.

In response to (1), Sartre says that existentialist fiction may seem more despicable because the characters in existentialist novels and play are presented as being responsible for their behavior.  In other words, villains are villains because they want to be terrible people (whereas other literature may present them as a victim of circumstance).

In response to (2), Sartre says that the kind of despair important to existentialism is the basis for action.  Despair is just what happens when you have a decision to make and you contemplate which option would be best.  The decision-making process is despair.  Also, according to existentialism, you are defined by your actions.  So someone who does not act is 'nobody'.

In response to (3), Sartre says that all projects have validity insofar as they are chosen by a free consciousness.  Although there may not be an external, eternal source of values, we can validate values in an intersubjective space.

In response to (4), Sartre points out that the 'subjectivity' existentialism is concerned with is an intersubjectivity.  This means that each individual is within a community and each person is constituted by his or her social connections.  There are no meaningful projects without social meanings.  So Sartre says that subjectivity (as intersubjectivity) should be understood not as individual consciuosness but our ability to go beyond individual consciousness.

Sartre Context

Like Descartes and Locke, Sarte is a dualist. He thinks there are only two kinds of substances that exist: Being and Nothingness. Being includes physical bodies in the world, including our own bodies. Nothingness is our consciousness. Nothingness determines itself and is radically free. Being is externally determined. As humans, we are both Being and Nothingness. Our consciousness is free even if our physical existence is determined by external forces. One of the results of our dual nature is bad faith. Bad faith means that you always tend to get wrapped up either in your Being or your Nothingness. If you think you have more freedom than you actually do, you're lost in your transcendence. If you think you have less freedom than you actually do, you're lost in your facticity. Bad faith is a basic structure for humanity. We cannot escape it.

Sartre recognizes that many people associate existentialism with despair. Indeed, this is not a necessary consequence of buying into the notion that for humans existence precedes essence (our actions define who we are). Rather, despair just seems to be a common response to the feelings of responsibility that arise when we recognize that we are in control of deciding our own character

Mill and Kant: Visit My Other Blog

Hello, there!

As I mentioned in class, you can find lots of useful posts about Mill and Kant on my other blog, ethicswithlouise.blogspot.com.