Pragmatism, Genealogy, and Moral Status
| dc.contributor.advisor | Koopman, Colin | |
| dc.contributor.author | Showler, Paul | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-10-04T19:38:26Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2022-10-04T19:38:26Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2022-10-04 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This dissertation draws from recent work in pragmatism and philosophical genealogy to develop and defend a new approach for thinking about the concept of moral status. My project has two main aims. First, I argue that Huw Price’s recent theory of philosophical naturalism, subject naturalism, can avoid several challenges by looking to the resources of philosophical genealogy, especially as it is developed in the work of Bernard Williams. Second, employing the methodological insights gained from this amended version of Price’s project, I defend a genealogical account of moral status. Rather than theorize the grounds of moral status on the basis of an individual’s properties or provide a conceptual analysis of moral status, my starting point is to look to the function that the concept plays within moral practice. In particular, I argue that it plays an indispensable, but overlooked role in allowing agents to deliberate about their practical identities and to articulate conceptions of moral progress. Taking this “function-first” approach, I argue, not only sheds light on various theoretical disagreements within applied ethics, but it advances debates concerning political and legal projects of affording rights to non-human animals, the natural environment (e.g., ecosystems), and machines displaying intelligence. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1794/27596 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | University of Oregon | |
| dc.rights | All Rights Reserved. | |
| dc.subject | Ethics | en_US |
| dc.subject | Genealogy | en_US |
| dc.subject | Pragmatism | en_US |
| dc.title | Pragmatism, Genealogy, and Moral Status | |
| dc.type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Department of Philosophy | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Oregon | |
| thesis.degree.level | doctoral | |
| thesis.degree.name | Ph.D. |
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