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dc.contributor.authorBreakey, Hugh
dc.date.accessioned2017-05-03T15:02:53Z
dc.date.available2017-05-03T15:02:53Z
dc.date.issued2009
dc.date.modified2011-08-29T05:57:25Z
dc.identifier.issn0953-8208
dc.identifier.doi10.1017/S0953820808003373
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/40425
dc.description.abstractA recurring objection confronting utilitarianism is that its dictates require information that lies beyond the bounds of human epistemic wherewithal. Utilitarians require reliable knowledge of the social consequences of various policies, and of people's preferences and utilities. Agreeing partway with the sceptics, I concur that the general rules-of-thumb offered by social science do not provide sufficient justification for the utilitarian legislator to rationally recommend a particular political regime, such as liberalism. Actual data about human preference-structures and utilities is required tobridge this evidentiary gap. I offer two arguments to support the availability of such information. First, I contend that ordinary human beings have a clear method of epistemic access to reliable information about commensurable preference-structures. Second, in an attempt to shift the onus of philosophic argument, I show that the utilitarian legislator's requirements do not differ in kind from those implicitly called upon by the sceptical deontic liberal.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.description.publicationstatusYes
dc.format.extent161728 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherCambridge University Press
dc.publisher.placeUnited Kingdom
dc.relation.ispartofstudentpublicationN
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom72
dc.relation.ispartofpageto99
dc.relation.ispartofissue1
dc.relation.ispartofjournalUtilitas
dc.relation.ispartofvolume21
dc.rights.retentionY
dc.subject.fieldofresearchPhilosophy
dc.subject.fieldofresearchEthical theory
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode5003
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode500306
dc.titleThe Epistemic and Informational Requirements of Utilitarianism
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dc.type.codeC - Journal Articles
gro.rights.copyright© 2009 International Society for Utilitarian Studies. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
gro.date.issued2009
gro.hasfulltextFull Text
gro.griffith.authorBreakey, Hugh E.


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