"“If the world is Russellian, then Russellian benefits and losses are the only benefits and losses, and also then we have moral obligations whose fulfillment will result in a net loss to the one who fulfills them.” This is what Mavrodes finds “queer,” or weird, or strange."
I don't see why this is necessarily strange. We can look at bee hives and see that individual bees constantly perform actions that are a net loss to the individual. This is easily understood by considering the bee hive a "superorganism" with all net loss/benefits collectively applied to it rather than to individuals. Humans in a Russellian world could likewise understand moral obligations in terms of the net gain and loss to the superorganism: the family, tribe, group, nation.
"“If the world is Russellian, then Russellian benefits and losses are the only benefits and losses, and also then we have moral obligations whose fulfillment will result in a net loss to the one who fulfills them.” This is what Mavrodes finds “queer,” or weird, or strange."
ReplyDeleteI don't see why this is necessarily strange. We can look at bee hives and see that individual bees constantly perform actions that are a net loss to the individual. This is easily understood by considering the bee hive a "superorganism" with all net loss/benefits collectively applied to it rather than to individuals. Humans in a Russellian world could likewise understand moral obligations in terms of the net gain and loss to the superorganism: the family, tribe, group, nation.