In one, Jim finds himself in the central square of a small South American town tied up against the wall or a row of 20 Indians. The captain is happy to offer him a guest's privilege of killing one of the Indians himself. If he refuses, none of them will live. In the other case, and then we can talk about them together because they are related, but also they have important differences.
David and Tamler take a break from complaining about psychological studies that measure utilitarianism to complain about the moral theory itself. We talk about one of the most famous critiques of utilitarian theories from Bernard Williams. Does utilitarianism annihilate our integrity--our unity--as people? Would trying to maximize well-being fracture our identities, and swallow up our projects, motivations, and moral convictions--the same convictions that make utilitarianism seem appealing in the first place? Is it ultimately self-defeating as a moral theory?
Plus, we talk about the adventures of Tamler's based step-mom Christina Hoff Sommers' at Lewis and Clark law school. Will David stay woke?
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