-
35A minimal test for political theoriesPhilosophia 28 (1-4): 283-296. 2001.Any adequate political theory must provide a plausible account of our obligations to future generations. It must also derive those obligations from morally significant features of our relationship to those who will live in the future, not from contingent accidents of human biology. The Minimal Test outlined in this paper offers a simple way to assess whether political theories are able to meet this challenge. It appears that several popular contemporary political theories will have difficulty pa…Read more
-
13Critical Notice (review)Canadian Journal of Philosophy 34 (3): 443-459. 2004.In this exceptional new book, Jeff McMahan sets out to provide such an account. Along the way, he offers nuanced and illuminating accounts of personal identity, human nature, the badness of death, the wrongness of killing, the rights of animals, abortion, and euthanasia. This book is a major contribution to both moral theory and applied ethics, and makes a strong case for the relevance of the former to the latter. It is also beautifully written and a joy to read.
-
Sidgwick, Origen, and the Reconciliation of Egoism and MoralityEtica E Politica 10 (2): 42-71. 2008.Many themes of late twentieth century ethics are prefigured in Sidgwick’s Method of Ethics. In particular, Sidgwick’s ‘Dualism of Practical Reason’ sets the scene for current debates over the demands of morality. Many philosophers agree that Sidgwick uncovers a deep and troubling conflict at the heart of utilitarian ethics. But Sidgwick’s own response to that conflict is treated, not as a live philosophical option, but as a historical oddity. In the twenty-first century, few philosophers see the…Read more
-
41Rule consequentialism and non-identityIn David Wasserman & Melinda Roberts (eds.), Harming Future Persons, Springer. pp. 115--134. 2009.
-
45Critical Notice (review)Canadian Journal of Philosophy 34 (3): 443-459. 2004.In this exceptional new book, Jeff McMahan sets out to provide such an account. Along the way, he offers nuanced and illuminating accounts of personal identity, human nature, the badness of death, the wrongness of killing, the rights of animals, abortion, and euthanasia. This book is a major contribution to both moral theory and applied ethics, and makes a strong case for the relevance of the former to the latter. It is also beautifully written and a joy to read.
-
327The demands of consequentialismOxford University Press. 2001.Tim Mulgan presents a penetrating examination of consequentialism: the theory that human behavior must be judged in terms of the goodness or badness of its consequences. The problem with consequentialism is that it seems unreasonably demanding, leaving us no room for our own aims and interests. In response, Mulgan offers his own, more practical version of consequentialism--one that will surely appeal to philosophers and laypersons alike.
-
17Replies to CriticsPhilosophy and Public Issues - Filosofia E Questioni Pubbliche. 2014.Download
-
28Ethics: Twelve Lectures on the Philosophy of Morality - by David WigginsPhilosophical Books 48 (4): 373-376. 2007.
-
173Future people: a moderate consequentialist account of our obligations to future generationsOxford University Press. 2006.What do we owe to our descendants? How do we balance their needs against our own? Tim Mulgan develops a new theory of our obligations to future generations, based on a new rule-consequentialist account of the morality of individual reproduction. He also brings together several different contemporary philosophical discussions, including the demands of morality and international justice. His aim is to produce a coherent, intuitively plausible moral theory that is not unreasonably demanding, even w…Read more