
People differ in terms of how morally deserving they are. And it is a good thing if people get what they deserve. Accordingly, it is important to work out an adequate theory of moral desert. But while certain aspects of such a theory have been frequently discussed in the philosophical literature, many others have been surprisingly neglected. For example, if it is indeed true that it is morally good for people to get what they deserve, does it always do the same amount of good when someone gets what they deserve? Or does it matter how deserving the person is? If we cannot give someone exactly what they deserve, is it better to give too much-or better to give too little? Does being twice as virtuous make you twice as deserving? And how are we to take into account the thought that what you deserve depends in part on how others are doing? The Geometry of Desert explores a number of these less familiar questions, using graphs to illustrate the various possible answers. The result is a more careful investigation into the nature of moral desert than has ever previously been offered, one that reveals desert to have a hidden complexity that most of us have failed to recognize.
This book investigates the complex structure of moral desert, questioning how we determine what individuals deserve and how those desert claims should be satisfied. Shelly Kagan, a professor of philosophy, utilizes a systematic analytical framework to dissect the nuances of moral worth. By applying formal logic and graphical modeling, he challenges common assumptions about the proportionality and distribution of desert in ethical systems.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts recognize this work as a rigorous contribution to normative ethics that introduces necessary precision to a previously under-theorized subject. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which requires a strong background in philosophical logic to fully grasp the proposed models.
Page Count:
676
Publication Date:
2015-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190233729
ISBN-13:
9780190233723
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