Aggregation in an infinite, relativistic universe
Aggregative moral theories face a series of devastating problems when we apply them in a physically realistic setting. According to current physics, our universe is likely <i>infinitely large</i>, and will contain infinitely many morally valuable events. But standard aggregative theories...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2022
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| _version_ | 1811141284107124736 |
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| author | Wilkinson, H |
| author_facet | Wilkinson, H |
| author_sort | Wilkinson, H |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Aggregative moral theories face a series of devastating problems when we apply them in a physically realistic setting. According to current physics, our universe is likely <i>infinitely large</i>, and will contain infinitely many morally valuable events. But standard aggregative theories are ill-equipped to compare outcomes containing infinite total value. So, applied in a realistic setting, they cannot compare any outcomes a real-world agent must ever choose between. This problem has been discussed extensively, and non-standard aggregative theories proposed to overcome it. This paper addresses a further problem of similar severity. Physics tells us that, in our universe, how remotely in time an event occurs is <i>relative</i>. But our most promising aggregative theories, designed to compare outcomes containing infinitely many valuable events, are sensitive to how remote in time those events are. As I show, the evaluations of those theories are then relative too. But this is absurd; evaluations of outcomes must be absolute! So we must reject such theories. Is this objection fatal for all aggregative theories, at least in a relativistic universe like ours? I demonstrate here that, by further modifying these theories to fit with the physics, we can overcome it. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T08:15:59Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:a51f8bec-c503-4ef1-91ef-5bb01c7ff541 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:35:26Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:a51f8bec-c503-4ef1-91ef-5bb01c7ff5412024-09-19T09:47:59ZAggregation in an infinite, relativistic universeJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:a51f8bec-c503-4ef1-91ef-5bb01c7ff541EnglishSymplectic ElementsSpringer2022Wilkinson, HAggregative moral theories face a series of devastating problems when we apply them in a physically realistic setting. According to current physics, our universe is likely <i>infinitely large</i>, and will contain infinitely many morally valuable events. But standard aggregative theories are ill-equipped to compare outcomes containing infinite total value. So, applied in a realistic setting, they cannot compare any outcomes a real-world agent must ever choose between. This problem has been discussed extensively, and non-standard aggregative theories proposed to overcome it. This paper addresses a further problem of similar severity. Physics tells us that, in our universe, how remotely in time an event occurs is <i>relative</i>. But our most promising aggregative theories, designed to compare outcomes containing infinitely many valuable events, are sensitive to how remote in time those events are. As I show, the evaluations of those theories are then relative too. But this is absurd; evaluations of outcomes must be absolute! So we must reject such theories. Is this objection fatal for all aggregative theories, at least in a relativistic universe like ours? I demonstrate here that, by further modifying these theories to fit with the physics, we can overcome it. |
| spellingShingle | Wilkinson, H Aggregation in an infinite, relativistic universe |
| title | Aggregation in an infinite, relativistic universe |
| title_full | Aggregation in an infinite, relativistic universe |
| title_fullStr | Aggregation in an infinite, relativistic universe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Aggregation in an infinite, relativistic universe |
| title_short | Aggregation in an infinite, relativistic universe |
| title_sort | aggregation in an infinite relativistic universe |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wilkinsonh aggregationinaninfiniterelativisticuniverse |