Philosophy ethics questions
faisal.kanwan
ethics_330_drug_power_point.pptx
Harms of drug use to the user
Loss of valuable opportunities and resources
Damage to physical health
Damage to psychological health
Damage to the ability to function
Damage to well-being
Premature death
In Summary
Heavy drug use thwarts the development and exercise of the human capacity for practical reason
Harms of Drug Use to Others
Accidental injury or death
Vandalism
Martial/relationship instability
Child neglect
Failure at important educational and occupational tasks
Utilitarian Argument for Prohibition
Drug prohibition will maximize happiness in the aggregate
The ‘Individualistic’ Argument
‘The risk of lost opportunities that some individuals would bear as the result of heroin legalization justifies the risks of criminal liability and other burdens that heroin prohibition would impose on other individuals.’
The ‘Individualistic’ Argument
‘Given, then, that there are good reasons for some people to prefer their situations in a prohibition environment, heroin prohibition is morally justifiable if these reasons have greater weight than anyone’s reasons to prefer his or her situation in a legalization environment.’
The Essence of the Argument
‘This policy is not to promote anyone’s happiness, but to protect certain important opportunities.’
Paternalism and Perfectionism
Paternalistic policy:
By law, you must wear a helmet when you ride a motorcycle
Perfectionistic Argument
Any life that lacks certain human activities and capacities is impoverished in important ways.
What might these activities and capacities be? Perhaps life, family, knowledge, social relationships and achievements (see Thomas Aquinas!)
Non-Paternalist Policy
Equality of educational opportunity: when each person has the education he or she needs to compete on FAIR TERMS for certain goods, such as wealth, desirable occupational positions, further education, and other socially valued achievements
Is an equality of educational opportunity a perfectionist ideal?
It assumes that the goods we can achieve because of a good education are VALUABLE for human beings.
Are these Perfectionistic?
Paternalistic argument for motorcycle helmet laws
Non-paternalistic argument for redistributive taxation for education
WHY?
Neither the paternalistic motorcycle helmet law nor the non-paternalistic redistributive taxation to achieve equality of educational opportunity are GENUINELY PERFECTIONISTIC.
Neither policy presupposes the validity of any SPECIFIC conception of the best kind of life for humans
Peter de Marneffe
‘These arguments do not presuppose that the best life for us is a life of theoretical reasoning and contemplation, as Aristotle thought; or of inner tranquility, as Epictetus thought; or of Christian piety, as Saint Paul thought. These arguments do not even presuppose that we should strive to develop and exercise our human capacities as fully as possible ….
Peter de Marneffe
‘ … To the contrary, these arguments are fully compatible with a wide range of beliefs about what is most worthy of pursuit: a life of theoretical inquiry, inner tranquility, Christian piety, the pursuit of money or power, sensual pleasures, and so on.’
The Crux
My argument for drug prohibition is not genuinely perfectionistic because it does not presuppose the validity of any specific conception of the best kind of life for humans.
Objectionably Perfectionistic
Perfectionistic justifications for coercive government policies are objectionable when they presuppose that some things are good for people who do not want them or who do not think they are valuable or important
Objectionably Perfectionistic
Is equality of educational opportunities ‘objectionably perfectionistic’?
Is the law that you must wear a helmet when you ride a motorcycle ‘objectionably perfectionistic’?
Peter de Marneffe concludes:
If the policy to achieve equality of educational opportunities is unobjectionably perfectionistic, and if the law for motorcyclists to wear a helmet unobjectionably perfectionistic, then a policy for drug prohibition is also unobjectionably perfectionistic.
WHY?
Drug Prohibition is Unobjectionably Perfectionistic
Most people want, or will want, the mental, emotional, and educational development necessary to achieve important goals in adulthood.
