“Being a moral realist I see normative ethics as a search of the truth about our obligations and a search of explanation; the idea is that moral principles can help us to a moral explanation of our particular obligations.” IdeasHelpingMoralPrinciplesParticularEthicsObligationExplanationRealistMoral Principles Author:Torbjorn Tannsjo
“It is of note that even if utilitarianism has proved to be superior to deontology and the libertarian moral rights theory in the area of killing, we are not allowed to say that it has been finally vindicated; it has to face other challenges in other areas, in particular in situations of distributive justice.” IfsHas BeensFacesChallengesJusticeSituationMoralRightsParticularTheoryAreasNotesKillingLibertarianSuperiorsUtilitarianismVindicated Author:Torbjorn Tannsjo
“There are some particular moral truths that I believe we have access to (such as the one not to inflict pain on a sentient being for no reason).” BelieveReasonPainI BelieveMoralParticularAccessNo ReasonSentient Beings Author:Torbjorn Tannsjo
“It is true that it feels very differently to enjoy a good meal, taking part in an interesting conversation, or to think of how successful your children are. Suppose we do all these things at a particular time. How happy are we at the time? We do not need to calculate the value of each such feelings on any singular scale to answer this question. We need not see our happiness at the time as a mathematical function of these items. It is rather that all these experiences, together with many other factors, causally puts us at the time at a certain level of happiness, i.e. in a certain mood.” ThinkingNeedsFeelsChildrenFeelingsTogetherCertainValuesEnjoyAnswersInterestingLevelsSuccessfulParticularConversationFunctionOur ChildrenMoodScalesFactorsMathematicalYour ChildrenMealsItemsGood MealsInteresting Conversation Author:Torbjorn Tannsjo
“I have been brought up in a culture where capital punishment is indeed anathema. I have always thought of myself as a principled opponent to capital punishment. However, when thinking about how the topic is handled in other cultures, in particular the American, Russian and Chinese ones, I have realised that my own tack on the issue was utterly superficial.” ThinkingHas BeensCultureMy OwnIssuesParticularPunishmentChineseOpponentsSuperficialTopicsRealisedCapital PunishmentOther CulturesPrincipledAnathema Author:Torbjorn Tannsjo
