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The monstrous conclusion
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dc.contributor.author | Stroppa, Luca | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2024-05-27T11:30:12Z | |
dc.date.available | 2024-05-27T11:30:12Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2024-05-24 | |
dc.identifier | 302159887 | |
dc.identifier | 26232da2-e976-4986-94e7-ecb18f5bc66b | |
dc.identifier | 85194533787 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Stroppa , L 2024 , ' The monstrous conclusion ' , Synthese , vol. 203 , 183 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-024-04603-1 | en |
dc.identifier.issn | 0039-7857 | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10023/29931 | |
dc.description.abstract | This paper introduces the Monstrous Conclusion, according to which, for any population, there is a better population consisting of just one individual (the Monster). The Monstrous Conclusion is deeply counterintuitive. I defend a version of Prioritarianism as a particularly promising population axiology that does not imply the Monstrous Conclusion. According to this version of Prioritarianism, which I call Asymptotic Prioritarianism, there is diminishing marginal moral importance of individual welfare that can get close to, but never quite reach, some upper limit. I argue that Asymptotic Prioritarianism faces a theoretical cost, that I call the Absolute Priority Principle. However, the Absolute Priority Principle is an extreme version of what I call the Trade-off Condition, an already noteworthy problem facing other (more widely endorsed) versions of Prioritarianism. I conclude that it is better for a theory to imply the Absolute Priority Principle and avoid the Monstrous Conclusion than to imply the Monstrous Conclusion and the Trade-off Condition. The potential for Asymptotic Prioritarianism is substantial. | |
dc.format.extent | 24 | |
dc.format.extent | 398820 | |
dc.language.iso | eng | |
dc.relation.ispartof | Synthese | en |
dc.subject | Repugnant conclusion | en |
dc.subject | Utility monster | en |
dc.subject | Impossibility theorems | en |
dc.subject | Prioritarianism | en |
dc.subject | Population axiology | en |
dc.subject | T-NDAS | en |
dc.subject | NIS | en |
dc.title | The monstrous conclusion | en |
dc.type | Journal article | en |
dc.contributor.institution | University of St Andrews. Philosophy | en |
dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-024-04603-1 | |
dc.description.status | Peer reviewed | en |
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