In dubious battle: uncertainty and the ethics of killing
Date
2017-03-28
Authors
Lazar, Seth
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Volume Title
Publisher
Kluwer Academic Publishers
Abstract
How should deontologists concerned with the ethics of killing apply their moral theory when we don’t know all the facts relevant to the permissibility of our action? Though the stakes couldn’t be higher, and uncertainty is endemic where killing is concerned, few deontologists have an answer to this question. In this paper I canvass two possibilities: that we should apply a threshold standard, equivalent to the ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ standard applied for criminal punishment; and that we should fit our deontological ethical theory into the apparatus of decision theory. I show that the first approach faces insurmountable obstacles, while the second holds much more promise for deontologists than they (and their critics) might first have assumed
Description
Keywords
Self-defence, Uncertainty, Deontological ethics, Normative ethics, Killing, Harm, Liability, Decision theory
Citation
Lazar, S. In dubious battle: uncertainty and the ethics of killing. Philos Stud 175, 859–883 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-017-0896-3
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Source
Philosophical Studies
Type
Journal article
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Restricted until
2099-12-31