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The Ethics of Ambiguity was the most important book I’ve ever read to this end. For me, reduce suffering is not the best way to think about it. Simone De Beauv
by thrav 7y ago
The Ethics of Ambiguity was the most important book I’ve ever read to this end. For me, reduce suffering is not the best way to think about it.
Simone De Beauvoir suggests our aim should be to will the freedom of others / increase the autonomy of the many.
Things can only have meaning when people are free to make their own decision.
It’s much harder to judge actions as good or bad if there was never a choice. The trolley car outcome can only be evaluated if the switch is available in the first place.
- panarky 7y ago> our aim should be to will the freedom of others It used to be that every individual didn't have to figure out for themselves what to believe, they just believed the same as their family and neighbors. It used to be that every individual didn't have to figure out for themselves what their life's work would be, they just continued the same occupation as their father or mother. Unlimited freedom is a lot of work, and it doesn't make everyone happy. Americans now live in a time and a place in which freedom and autonomy are valued above all else and in which expanded opportunities for self-determination are regarded as a sign of the psychological well-being of individuals and the moral well-being of the culture. This article argues that freedom, autonomy, and self-determination can become excessive, and that when that happens, freedom can be experienced as a kind of tyranny. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5044/cf122d8903a8506871d67fc4887f20275a76.pdf https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5044/cf122d8903a8506871d67f...