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908The moral foundation of rightsOxford University Press. 1987.What does it mean for someone to have a moral right to something? What kinds of creatures can have rights, and which rights can they have? While rights are indispensable to our moral and political thinking, they are also mysterious and controversial; as long as these controversies remain unsolved, rights will remain vulnerable to skepticism. Here, Sumner constructs both a coherent concept of a moral right and a workable substantive theory of rights to provide the moral foundation necessary to di…Read more
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531Welfare, happiness, and ethicsOxford University Press. 1996.Moral philosophers agree that welfare matters. But they disagree about what it is, or how much it matters. In this vital new work, Wayne Sumner presents an original theory of welfare, investigating its nature and discussing its importance. He considers and rejects all notable theories of welfare, both objective and subjective, including hedonism and theories founded on desire or preference. His own theory connects welfare closely with happiness or life satisfaction. Reacting against the value pl…Read more
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416When medical assistance in dying (MAiD) was legalized in Canada in June 2016, the question of allowing decisionally capable persons to make advance requests in anticipation of later incapacity was reserved for further consideration during the mandatory parliamentary review originally scheduled to begin in June 2020 (but since delayed by COVID-19). In its current form the legislation does not permit such requests, since it stipulates that at the time at which the procedure is to be administered …Read more
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220Hate speech, understood broadly, is any form of expression intended to arouse hatred or contempt toward members of a particular social group. When university administrators have reason to believe that a planned speaking event on campus may feature hate speech (at least in the eyes of some), how should they respond? In this paper I address this question as it arises for Canadian universities. I argue that, where the regulation of campus speech is concerned, the right course of action for unive…Read more
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208Utility and CapabilityUtilitas 18 (1): 1-19. 2006.When Amartya Sen defends his capability theory of well-being he contrasts it with the utility theory advocated by the classical utilitarians, including John Stuart Mill. Yet a closer examination of the two theories reveals that they are much more similar than they appear. Each theory can be interpreted in either a subjective or an objective way. When both are interpreted subjectively the differences between them are slight, and likewise for the objective interpretations. Finally, whatever differ…Read more
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156Welfare, Happiness, and PleasureUtilitas 4 (2): 199-223. 1992.Time and philosophical fashion have not been kind to hedonism. After flourishing for three centuries or so in its native empiricist habitat, it has latterly all but disappeared from the scene. Does it now merit even passing attention, for other than nostalgic purposes? Like endangered species, discredited ideas do sometimes manage to make a comeback. Is hedonism due for a revival of this sort? Perhaps it is overly optimistic to think that it could ever flourish again in its original form; the ev…Read more
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128Assisted death: a study in ethics and lawOxford University Press. 2011.In this timely book L.W. Sumner addresses these issues within the wider context of palliative care for patients in the dying process.
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113Two Theories of the Good: L. W. SUMNERSocial Philosophy and Policy 9 (2): 1-14. 1992.Suppose that the ultimate point of ethics is to make the world a better place. If it is, we must face the question: better in what respect? If the good is prior to the right — that is, if the rationale for all requirements of the right is that they serve to further the good in one way or another — then what is this good? Is there a single fundamental value capable of underlying and unifying all of our moral categories? If so, how might it defeat the claims of rival candidates for this role? If n…Read more
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94Animal welfare and animal rightsJournal of Medicine and Philosophy 13 (2): 159-175. 1988.Animal liberationists tend to divide into two mutually antagonistic camps: animal welfarists, who share a utilitarian moral outlook, and animal rightists, who presuppose a structure of basic rights. However, the gap between these groups tends to be exaggerated by their allegiance to oversimplified versions of their favored moral frameworks. For their part, animal rightists should acknowledge that rights, however basic, are also defeasible by appeals to consequences. Contrariwise, animal welfaris…Read more
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84Is Virtue Its Own Reward?: L. W. SUMNERSocial Philosophy and Policy 15 (1): 18-36. 1998.If I lead a life of virtue, that may well be good for you. But will it also be good for me? The idea that it will—or even must—is an ancient one, and its appeal runs deep. For if this idea is correct then we can provide everyone with a good reason—arguably the best reason—for being virtuous. However, for all the effort which has been invested in defending the idea, by some of the best minds in the history of philosophy, it remains unproven. Worse, in this skeptical age hardly anyone really belie…Read more
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77Sumner on Abortion: Moral Theory and Moral Standing: A Reply to Woods and SolesDialogue 24 (4): 691-. 1985.I am grateful to John Woods and David Soles for the careful attention they have given to some of the central arguments of Abortion and Moral Theory, though I wish that they had revealed fewer respects in which those arguments were seriously underdeveloped. In what follows I will try to supply some of the needed further development. I address the main points at issue in what I conceive to be their order of ascending importance.
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74Positive SexismSocial Philosophy and Policy 5 (1): 204. 1987.No one who cares about equal opportunity can derive much comfort from the present occupational distribution of working women. In the various industrial societies of the West, women comprise between one quarter and one-half of the national labor force. However, they tend to clustered in employment sectors – especially clerical, sales, and service J occupations – which rank relatively low in remuneration, status, autonomy, and other perquisites. Meanwhile, the more prestigious and rewarding manage…Read more
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66Rawls and the Contract Theory of Civil DisobedienceCanadian Journal of Philosophy 7 (sup1): 1-48. 1977.(1977). Rawls and the Contract Theory of Civil Disobedience. Canadian Journal of Philosophy: Vol. 7, Supplementary Volume 3: New Essays on Contract Theory, pp. 1-48
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54Ishani Maitra and Mary Kate McGowan (eds.), Speech and Harm: Controversies over Free Speech (review)Social Theory and Practice 39 (4): 710-718. 2013.
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53The Moral Status of Animals.By Stephen R.L. Clark. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977. 221 pages (review)Dialogue 17 (3): 570-575. 1978.
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37Toward a Credible View of AbortionCanadian Journal of Philosophy 4 (1). 1974.As little as a decade ago most moral philosophers still believed that the exercise of their craft did not include defending positions on actual moral problems. More recently they have come to their senses, one happy result being a spate of articles in the last few years on the subject of abortion. These discussions have contributed much toward an understanding of the abortion issue, but for the most part they have not attempted a full analysis of the morality of abortion. Such an analysis is too…Read more
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33Critical Notice of Alan Donagan, The Theory of Morality (review)Canadian Journal of Philosophy 9 (1): 185-194. 1979.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Areas of Specialization
Applied Ethics |
Normative Ethics |
Philosophy of Law |
Social and Political Philosophy |
Areas of Interest
Applied Ethics |
Normative Ethics |
Philosophy of Law |
Social and Political Philosophy |