more on this theme | more from this thinker
Full Idea
We describe defects in human beings in the same way as we do defects in plants and animals. …You cannot talk about a river as being defective.
Gist of Idea
Human defects are just like plant or animal defects
Source
Philippa Foot (Interview with Philippa Foot [2003], p.33)
Book Ref
-: 'Philosophy Now' [-], p.33
A Reaction
This is a much clearer commitment to naturalistic ethics than I have found in her more academic writings. My opinion of Foot (which was already high) went up when I read this interview. …She says vice is a defect of the will.
| 23433 | Humans need courage like a plant needs roots [Foot] |
| 23431 | Human defects are just like plant or animal defects [Foot] |
| 23432 | Concepts such as function, welfare, flourishing and interests only apply to living things [Foot] |
| 23434 | There is no fact-value gap in 'owls should see in the dark' [Foot] |
| 23435 | If you demonstrate the reason to act, there is no further question of 'why should I?' [Foot] |
| 23436 | It is an odd Humean view to think a reason to act must always involve caring [Foot] |
| 23438 | Full rationality must include morality [Foot] |
| 23437 | Practical reason is goodness in choosing actions [Foot] |
| 23439 | Principles are not ultimate, but arise from the necessities of human life [Foot] |