
Contents
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More Specific Arguments More Specific Arguments
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My Friend My Friend
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Someone's Own Refusal to Sacrifice Someone's Own Refusal to Sacrifice
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Identification With Another's Point of View Identification With Another's Point of View
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Taurek's Type of Moral Theory Taurek's Type of Moral Theory
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Direct Reasons for Nonaggregation Direct Reasons for Nonaggregation
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Persons and Objects Persons and Objects
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Clear Case of Nonaggregation Clear Case of Nonaggregation
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I I
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Conflict‐Free Situations Conflict‐Free Situations
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II II
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Worse States of the World Worse States of the World
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Perspective of Evaluation: Bias? Perspective of Evaluation: Bias?
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Objective Value? Objective Value?
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Human Value Human Value
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The Point of View Outside Each Point of View The Point of View Outside Each Point of View
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III III
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Equally Bad Conflicting Situations Equally Bad Conflicting Situations
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The Perspective of Evaluation The Perspective of Evaluation
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Interpersonal Comparisons of Utility Interpersonal Comparisons of Utility
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Betrayal? Betrayal?
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Tossing a Coin: Fairness or the Value of a Chance? Tossing a Coin: Fairness or the Value of a Chance?
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IV IV
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The Aggregation Argument The Aggregation Argument
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V V
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Criticism of the Aggregation Argument Criticism of the Aggregation Argument
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Nonaggregation of Friends? Nonaggregation of Friends?
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Nonaggregation of Nonpersons Nonaggregation of Nonpersons
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Nonaggregation of Claims Nonaggregation of Claims
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Highest Respect for Persons and Toss of a Coin Highest Respect for Persons and Toss of a Coin
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Higher‐Order Units of Value Higher‐Order Units of Value
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Highest Respect for the Losers Highest Respect for the Losers
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“To Save One Life Is as if We Had Saved a Million” “To Save One Life Is as if We Had Saved a Million”
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Theory of the Right or a Revised Idea of the Good? Theory of the Right or a Revised Idea of the Good?
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The Aggregation Argument Again The Aggregation Argument Again
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Summary Summary
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The Personal Point of View and Deontology The Personal Point of View and Deontology
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Notes Notes
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5 Is It Worse if More Die: Agent Relative or Non‐Relative Views?
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Published:July 1998
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Abstract
Considers arguments for the following radical claim: the fact that we could save a greater number of lives is not a reason to save some people rather than others when we cannot save everyone. Against this view, an argument is presented that claims to prove that it is worse if more die than if fewer do, but then a counterargument is given that considerations of justice and fairness might stand in the way of preventing this worse state of affairs, requiring us to give to a group with the greater number of people and to a group with the smaller number equal chances to be saved. This means there would be a conflict between considerations of the right (e.g. justice, fairness), and considerations of the good (e.g. maximizing lives saved). The arguments offered are based around the claims of John Taurek on conflict situations in which some can be helped and some cannot: his brand of consequentialism, which involves an evaluation of outcomes relative to an individual's interests combined with an agent‐neutral theory of permission to act. The aspects addressed all centre around the aggregation argument — aggregation vs non‐aggregation.
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