Some mathematical formulas are designed to suggest a range of possible answers. A statistical model for where an electron might be in relation to the other parts of an atom might suggest a range of answers, rather than a single correct one. To think that the most probably precise location is the correct answer is not really a mistake — a one-time error in a calculation, say — but a misunderstanding of the problem. It’s to misconceive the problem itself.
Something similar occurs when we talk about ethical principles.
An ethical principle can suggest a range of appropriate actions. That’s the case with the Utilitarian Principle, which holds that the good thing to do is the action that brings the greatest good to the greatest number of people.
A person who decided to sacrifice a little of her own time and resources to help others would be applying that rule. But the rule suggests a range of appropriate actions, not a single action.
What do you say when someone claims there is only one answer?
The philosopher Cheryl Misak tells the story of the Mosquito Net People who have decided that giving money to buy mosquito nets to save people from malaria is the single greatest good you can do. Since it’s the greatest good, you should do that. If you give money to another charity or to your struggling neighbor, you are making a mistake. By doing less than the ultimate good, you are in some way doing a wrong, even if in a small way.
The problem at this point might strike us as an ethical problem — a holier than thou person telling the world what’s good and what’s not.
Maybe that’s so. But the central problem here is with a concept. The idea that doing good is some kind of calculation is not a mistake. It’s a misunderstanding of what the whole business is about.
• Source: Yesterday’s note was on the philosopher Johnny Lyons, who has recorded a series of dialogs called “Talking to Thinkers.” His conversation with Cheryl Misak is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQVUQc4lie0
Her discussion of the conceptual problem with ethical principles begins around 46 minutes into the recording.
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