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Single Idea 4112
[filed under theme 23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 2. Elements of Virtue Theory / c. Motivation for virtue
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Full Idea
Recently there has been much emphasis on the importance of our capacity to have second-order desires - the desire to have certain desires - and its significance for ethical reflection and the practical consciousness.
Gist of Idea
A crucial feature of moral thought is second-order desire - the desire to have certain desires
Source
Bernard Williams (Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy [1985], Ch. 1)
Book Ref
Williams,Bernard: 'Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy' [Fontana 1985], p.11
A Reaction
This is a crucial point if we are to defend a reasonably rational view of morality against (say) emotivism. I agree that it is crucial to morality.
The
25 ideas
from 'Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy'
4114
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Philosophers try to produce ethical theories because they falsely assume that ethics can be simple
[Williams,B]
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4110
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Obligation and duty look backwards (because of a promise or job), although the acts are in the future
[Williams,B]
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4112
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A crucial feature of moral thought is second-order desire - the desire to have certain desires
[Williams,B]
|
4113
|
'Deon' in Greek means what one must do; there was no word meaning 'duty'
[Williams,B]
|
4116
|
A weakness of contractual theories is the position of a person of superior ability and power
[Williams,B]
|
4121
|
Why should I think of myself as both the legislator and the citizen who follows the laws?
[Williams,B]
|
4122
|
If the self becomes completely impartial, it no longer has enough identity to worry about its interests
[Williams,B]
|
4120
|
It is an error of consequentialism to think we just aim at certain states of affairs; we also want to act
[Williams,B]
|
4124
|
Utilitarian benevolence involves no particular attachments, and is immune to the inverse square law
[Williams,B]
|
4128
|
Intuitionism has been demolished by critics, and no longer looks interesting
[Williams,B]
|
4132
|
The category of person is a weak basis for ethics, because it is not fixed but comes in degrees
[Williams,B]
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4131
|
Most women see an early miscarriage and a late stillbirth as being very different in character
[Williams,B]
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4133
|
Speciesism isn't like racism, because the former implies a viewpoint which belongs to no one
[Williams,B]
|
4134
|
The weakness of prescriptivism is shown by "I simply don't like staying at good hotels"
[Williams,B]
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4135
|
Some ethical ideas, such as 'treachery' and 'promise', seem to express a union of facts and values
[Williams,B]
|
4244
|
It is very confused to deduce a nonrelativist morality of universal toleration from relativism
[Williams,B]
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4243
|
Our ability to react to an alien culture shows that ethical thought extends beyond cultural boundaries
[Williams,B]
|
4245
|
Ethical conviction must be to some extent passive, and can't just depend on the will and decisions
[Williams,B]
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4246
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Taking responsibility won't cure ethical uncertainty by; we are uncertain what to decide
[Williams,B]
|
4247
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It is a mark of our having ethical values that we aim to reproduce them in our children
[Williams,B]
|
4252
|
Promise keeping increases reliability, by making deliberation focus on something which would be overlooked
[Williams,B]
|
4248
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Not all moral deliberations lead to obligations; some merely reveal what 'may' be done
[Williams,B]
|
4249
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"Ought implies can" is a famous formula in connection with moral obligation
[Williams,B]
|
4250
|
The concept of a 'duty to myself' is fraudulent
[Williams,B]
|
22355
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In the realist view, the real external world explains how it (and perceptions of it) are possible
[Williams,B]
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