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Full Idea
Owing to the complication of human relations, the problem of what one ought to do from the point of view of life as a whole is one of intense difficulty.
Gist of Idea
The complexities of life make it almost impossible to assess morality from a universal viewpoint
Source
H.A. Prichard (What is the Basis of Moral Obligation? [1925])
Book Ref
Prichard,H.A.: 'Moral Writings' [OUP 2002], p.6
A Reaction
I suspect that the difficulty is not the problems engendered by complexity, but that there is no answer available from the most objective point of view. Morality simply is a matter of how daily life is conducted, with medium-term goals only.
| 9254 | In philosophy the truth can only be reached via the ruins of the false [Prichard] |
| 9256 | I see the need to pay a debt in a particular instance, and any instance will do [Prichard] |
| 9257 | The complexities of life make it almost impossible to assess morality from a universal viewpoint [Prichard] |
| 9255 | Seeing the goodness of an effect creates the duty to produce it, not the desire [Prichard] |