AI Snips
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Ethics Based on Self-Interest
- Stephen views ethics as rooted in personal preferences, aimed at maximizing his own well-being.
- He acknowledges the need for legal and social systems to enforce cooperation as purely ethical obligations lack intrinsic enforcement.
Limits of Ethical Obligation
- Without social or governmental enforcement, ethical behavior is unlikely when no one is watching.
- Ethical obligation to act morally is difficult to justify without concern for personal consequences.
Moral Subjectivism and Conflict
- Stephen rejects objective moral facts, embracing a form of ethical subjectivism with skepticism about universal morality.
- He sees conflicts of fundamental values between people often resolved only by force rather than moral agreement.