语言学与哲学（美国麻省理工） (21).pdf

: Problems of Philosophy
Prof. Sally Haslanger
December 5, 2001
Particularism and Virtue Ethics
I. Universalism and Particularism
We've considered before some basic questions that we would expect a moral theory to answer:
i) Which acts are right and which are wrong? Which acts ought we to perform (understanding the "ought" as a moral
"ought")?
ii) What makes a particular action right or wrong? What is it about the action that determines its moral status?
iii) How do we know what is right and wrong?
Both utilitarianism and Kantianism (and egoism) are what are sometimes called universalistic moral theories: they provide
a single general characterization of what makes an action right or wrong that determines for anyone at any time what is the
right (or wrong) thing to do. A utilitarian holds that actions are right insofar as they maximize happiness [pleasure, utility];
a Kantian holds that actions are right insofar as they satisfy the categorical imperative. These views are universalistic
because regardless of who you are, where you came from, what role you currently occupy, or what your own
desires/preferences are, the same principle that determines what you ought to do, determines what everyone else ought to
do. (Note that it doesn't follow that you can always tell what it is that you ought to do; sometimes it is difficult to apply the