Morals By Agreement

by David Gauthier

Are moral principles actually principles of rational choice? Starting from the view that it is rational always to choose what will give one the greatest expectation of value or utility--and the common counter-claim that this procedure, applied in many situations, will actually leave people worse off than need be--Gauthier instead proposes a principle of cooperation whereby each must choose in accordance with a principle to which all can agree. He shows that not only does such a principle ensure mutual benefit and fairness, but also that each person may expect greater utility from actually adhering to a morality based on it, even though his other choice did not have that specific end primarily in view. In resolving what may appear to be a paradox, he establishes morals on the foundation of reason.

Genres: Philosophy

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oftentimes utilitarian philosophers like myself will find themselves being presented with the objection that utilitarian philosophy is, fundamentally, an ethics of subjectivism. If our morals are about making us happy (and preventing us from being unhappy), then they could not be in any sense an objective part of our social order - other social orders could decide that things we thought were despicable were obligatory, and there would be no 'archimedian point' outside our own context from which to critique the views of an opposing social ordering. "Morals by agreement" provides utilitarian philosophy with that archimedean point. The thesis clearly demonstrates the rationality (indeed, absolutel rationality) of the utilitarian ethic with reference to the mathematical discipline of game theory. For a utilitarian philosopher, this addition to ethics is a welcome tool to rebut the frequent subjectivist canard.

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Gauthier presents a clear contractarian moral theory in Morals By Agreement. One of the major questions in Ethics is "why act ethically?", contractarian theories are largely designed to answer just this question. Gauthier deploys game theory in an effort to provide a rational basis for acting from moral considerations. At it's heart this is a utilitarian theory that provides a rational reason for including considerations of others' well-being in deliberating one's own action.

This work is highly technical, yet approachable. I highly suggest it.

[Heather Hoyt]

Read for research. A contractarian view of morality based on self-interest and rationality.

[Soha Bayoumi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A landmark in libertarian thought, where Gauthier attempts to establish his theory of justice as mutual advantage

[Leonardo]

Citado en La Idea de Justicia.