The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast PEL Presents Closereads: Peter Railton's "Moral Realism" (Wrap Up)
Aug 24, 2025
The hosts wrap up their insightful analysis of Peter Railton's 'Moral Realism', engaging with the works of Hume, Kant, and others. They dive into the moral complexities of self-interest versus obligation through the knave dilemma. The discussion links moral philosophy with political identity, contrasting liberal and authoritarian ideologies. They tackle the ethical dilemmas surrounding nationalism and immigration, while questioning the essence of moral obligation and the role of empirical evidence in ethics. Finally, they critique intuitionist theories and tease future talks on Hegel.
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Morality Beyond Personal Desires
- Railton rejects making moral force depend on having particular desires by insisting moral evaluations need not be conditional on an agent's current aims.
- He aims to preserve morality's objectivity while accounting for human motivational diversity.
Knave Problem And Reflective Endorsement
- Hume's response to the knave invokes deformity of character and resulting unhappiness as a normative restraint.
- Korsgaard and others reformulate this as reflective endorsement and identity-based reasons to act morally.
Scope: Who Counts As A Moral Agent
- Not every being is a moral subject: infants, animals, and those out of their right mind fall outside moral imperative scope.
- Moral obligatoriness ties to being constituted to respond to reasons.
