By DAN MOLLER [Philosophy] – Suppose you are considering performing some act A that you are worried might be wrong. Perhaps someone has presented you with an argument which purports to show that A is morally objectionable. Suppose, further, that after due deliberation you ultimately conclude that the argument fails, as do all other anti-A arguments you know of. Is this the end of the matter? Should your deliberations be at an end after responsible consideration of the available arguments?

The surprising answer is ‘No’, according to a line of thought with roots in Catholic tradition and more recently echoed in certain decision-theoretical approaches to morality. On this view, the mere risk of making a deep moral mistake rules out certain acts. If this were rue, first-level deliberation about one’s actions would nor be enough; we would need to proceed to second-level deliberation about the risk of being mistaken at the first-level, and doing so might rule out or at least count against A. To see the worry suppose that you yourself believe the argument counting against A is a powerful one, and that it only fails because of some intricate and subtle fallacy you have identified. In that case, there seem to be grounds to worry from within your own point of view: (1) it is quite easy to make mistakes about subtle philosophical arguments, and (2) if you have made a mistake, doing A would be seriously wrong. Going ahead with A under those circumstances makes it look as if you were willing to risk serious wrongdoing on the basis of beliefs about which you can’t (and perhaps couldn’t rationally) be very confident.

In the abstract, then, this line of argument may strike us as plausible or at least worthy of serious consideration, and when it is presented as a ground for something like vegetarianism, my experience is that philosophers are often willing at least to take it seriously. However, it can also raise questions about practices we may be more reluctant to question.

Continued in Philosophy  | More Chronicle & Notices.

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