Can philosophy make us better people? A new book by the writer of the TV hit, The Office, argues that it can. Other thinkers believe that philosophy itself is no longer relevant.
X
Next
‘The correct answer to every moral question’
Can philosophy make us better people? A new book by the writer of the TV hit, The Office, argues that it can. Other thinkers believe that philosophy itself is no longer relevant.
X
PreviousNext
Some questions have troubled us for generations. If you have promised to lend a sword to a colleague, but they have gone dangerously mad, are you morally bound to keep your promise? If a murderer comes to your house looking for your friend, is it immoral to lie to them about where she is?
One man has written a book claiming to have the answers. Not a philosopher, a comedy writer. Michael Schur hardly seems the model for a modern PlatoOne of the most important Ancient Greek philosophers. : his previous credits include The Office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation.
Yet, he has done a great deal to popularise moral philosophy through his TV series The Good Place.
In his latest book, How to Be Perfect, he is trying to go further in teaching us how to use philosophy to be better.
The problem he faces is that philosophers do not agree on how to be good. There are three major schools in Western moral philosophy: consequentialism, deontologyAn ethical theory invented by German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Its name comes from the Greek word deon, meaning duty, because it stresses the importance of clear, universal rules in guiding our actions. and virtue ethics.
Consequentialists believe the outcomes of our actions define whether or not they are morally good.
Take the classic trolley problem. A runaway trolley is hurtling down a set of tracks on which five pedestrians are standing. By pulling a lever, you can divert it onto a different set of tracks with just one bystander. For a utilitarian, the answer is clear: one pain is less than five pain.
Deontologists believe to live morally, we must obey universal rules. The most essential rule is always to treat others as ends, rather than as meansThe principle that Immanuel Kant placed at the very heart of his ethical theory. It means we must always respect the goals of others, and not simply use them to achieve our own goals.. For them, pulling the lever means treating one victim as a means of saving the other five.
Virtue ethicists think the solution must be found before you get to the lever. They believe we should seek to cultivate the right kind of personality: kind, generous, courageous. Then, when we find ourselves in an ethical dilemma, we will know what to do.
But virtue ethicists are not so clear on what a virtuous person looks like. AristotleA student of Plato, tutor to Alexander the Great and the father of political philosophy. suggested we should moderate everything. That means being fairly kind, fairly generous, fairly courageous.
Some philosophers simply ignore all three. For Jean-Paul SartreA French philosopher who is perhaps the most famous name associated with existentialism. He was married to Simone de Beauvoir. there was no rule that can make our decisions for us. We as individuals must accept full responsibility.
X
Previous
Can philosophy tell us?
Yes: We are the heirs to thousands of years of thinking about difficult ethical questions. We should use these tested, timeless ideas to make the right decisions in our own lives.
No: Every moral philosophy is a product of its own era and the prejudices of that era. We now live in a scientific age, and we should rely on science to lead good lives, not outdated ethical ideas.
Or... We simply cannot think about morality without thinking philosophically, but the world is too complex to be boiled down to any one school of thought. We should adopt a flexible moral philosophy.
Keywords
Plato - One of the most important Ancient Greek philosophers.
Deontology - An ethical theory invented by German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Its name comes from the Greek word deon, meaning duty, because it stresses the importance of clear, universal rules in guiding our actions.
Ends, rather than as means - The principle that Immanuel Kant placed at the very heart of his ethical theory. It means we must always respect the goals of others, and not simply use them to achieve our own goals.
Aristotle - A student of Plato, tutor to Alexander the Great and the father of political philosophy.
Jean-Paul Sartre - A French philosopher who is perhaps the most famous name associated with existentialism. He was married to Simone de Beauvoir.
‘The correct answer to every moral question’
Glossary
Plato - One of the most important Ancient Greek philosophers.
Deontology - An ethical theory invented by German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Its name comes from the Greek word deon, meaning duty, because it stresses the importance of clear, universal rules in guiding our actions.
Ends, rather than as means - The principle that Immanuel Kant placed at the very heart of his ethical theory. It means we must always respect the goals of others, and not simply use them to achieve our own goals.
Aristotle - A student of Plato, tutor to Alexander the Great and the father of political philosophy.
Jean-Paul Sartre - A French philosopher who is perhaps the most famous name associated with existentialism. He was married to Simone de Beauvoir.