Publication details
Sidgwickův problém
| Title in English | Sidgwick’s Problem |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2015 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | Repozitář MU |
| Field | Law sciences |
| Keywords | utilitarianism; rational egoism; dualism of practical reason; Henry Sidgwick; balancing |
| Attached files | |
| Description | This paper deals with dualism of practical reason, as formulated by Henry Sidgwick.For him, it was the philosophically irresolvable conflict between egoism and utilitarianism that threatened the coherence of practical thought. According to rational egoists, the ultimate end of one’s action should be one’s own happiness. According to utilitarians, the ultimate end of one’s action should be other people’s happiness as well as one’s own. In Sidgwick’s opinion, only the existence of the utilitarian God could reliably exclude the conflict and thus solve the dualism.However, Sidgwick does not consider another version of dualism which means, in cases of conflict, we weigh the relative strength of egoistic and impartial reasons. This version strikingly resembles constitutional balancing used to weigh up the relative importance of the public interest and the detriment to an individual right. |