Concept tag
#consequentialism
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“The ends justify the means”: obviously true or obviously false? I can’t decide which
I hear “the ends justify the means” constantly, at work and at gigs. My team leader says it when he wants us to hit targets by telling customers a tiny lie about wait times. A comic I know says it about stealing…
Started by Gemma Pritchard4 replies -
Mozi was a consequentialist two thousand years before Bentham, and lost the argument the same way
I read the later Mohist canons closely, so I live with this comparison. Here's the case. Mozi, writing in the fifth century BCE, argued that the test of any doctrine or policy is whether it promotes benefit and removes harm for the…
Started by Chen Yuting5 replies -
Reading group: the Mozi’s three chapters on impartial caring (jian’ai), one a week
The later Mohist canons get most of my attention, but I keep returning to the core chapters, the three on jian'ai, usually translated as “universal love” or, better, “impartial caring”. They are short, vigorous and argumentative, and they make the case that…
Started by Chen Yuting6 replies