Re:U.S. Life Expectancy Drops for Third Year in a Row (2018)
by BeetleB on Thursday July 04, 2019 @11:04AM
(#20355190)
>The categorical imperative isn't about "is it likely that everybody will act like me" but "would it be good if everybody acted like me".
I know what it's about. My point is that in many tough situations, following it leads to suboptimal solutions (not just for me, but for society). It is not a good way to decide the morality of many things.
>You'll likely not end humanity if you start murdering your neighbors, because most people will not follow your example. Your murder might not even get noticed, so even the statistics won't change - and yet you'll probably agree that there's an ethical problem involved in murdering your neighbors.
I would agree, but I don't need the categorical imperative to decide this. It's not as if this is a tough scenario that the categorical imperative made a lot easier to analyze.
I know what it's about. My point is that in many tough situations, following it leads to suboptimal solutions (not just for me, but for society). It is not a good way to decide the morality of many things.
>You'll likely not end humanity if you start murdering your neighbors, because most people will not follow your example. Your murder might not even get noticed, so even the statistics won't change - and yet you'll probably agree that there's an ethical problem involved in murdering your neighbors.
I would agree, but I don't need the categorical imperative to decide this. It's not as if this is a tough scenario that the categorical imperative made a lot easier to analyze.