The Geometry of Desert
Published on 27. September 2012
Book
Hardback
688 pages
978-0-19-989559-5 (ISBN)
Description
People differ in terms of how morally deserving they are. And it is a good thing if people get what they deserve. Accordingly, it is important to work out an adequate theory of moral desert. But while certain aspects of such a theory have been frequently discussed in the philosophical literature, many others have been surprisingly neglected. For example, if it is indeed true that it is morally good for people to get what they deserve, does it always do the same
amount of good when someone gets what they deserve? Or does it matter how deserving the person is? If we cannot give someone exactly what they deserve, is it better to give too much-or better to give too little? Does being twice as virtuous make you twice as deserving? And how are we to take into account
the thought that what you deserve depends in part on how others are doing? The Geometry of Desert explores a number of these less familiar questions, using graphs to illustrate the various possible answers. The result is a more careful investigation into the nature of moral desert than has ever previously been offered, one that reveals desert to have a hidden complexity that most of us have failed to recognize.
amount of good when someone gets what they deserve? Or does it matter how deserving the person is? If we cannot give someone exactly what they deserve, is it better to give too much-or better to give too little? Does being twice as virtuous make you twice as deserving? And how are we to take into account
the thought that what you deserve depends in part on how others are doing? The Geometry of Desert explores a number of these less familiar questions, using graphs to illustrate the various possible answers. The result is a more careful investigation into the nature of moral desert than has ever previously been offered, one that reveals desert to have a hidden complexity that most of us have failed to recognize.
Reviews / Votes
The Geometry of Desert is essential reading for those who value moral desert, but it also has a great deal to offer those who do not. * Thomas Hurka, Mind * The Geometry of Desert is a model of analytic rigor, clarity, and thoroughness. An enormous amount of thought, care, and effort went into writing this book, which explores the possibilities for the design and use of graphs in numerous settings and with considerable originality and inventiveness. * Saul Smilansky, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews * The Geometry of Desert is a fascinating, illuminating, creative and highly original piece of philosophy. Kagan has taken the idea of desert in directions few could have imagined. * Victor Tadros, Criminal Law and Philosophy *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 241 mm
Width: 167 mm
Thickness: 54 mm
Weight
1040 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-989559-5 (9780199895595)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Shelly Kagan
The Geometry of Desert
Book
12/2014
Oxford University Press Inc
€79.90
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Shelly Kagan is the Clark Professor of Philosophy at Yale, where he has taught since 1995. He was an undergraduate at Wesleyan University, and received his PhD in philosophy from Princeton University in 1982. Before coming to Yale, Professor Kagan taught at the University of Pittsburgh and at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is the author of The Limits of Morality, a philosophical attack on two widely held views about the demands
of morality, and the textbook, Normative Ethics. Videos of his undergraduate course on Death have been extremely popular online.
of morality, and the textbook, Normative Ethics. Videos of his undergraduate course on Death have been extremely popular online.
Content
Preface ; Acknowledgments ; A Note to the Reader ; 1. MORAL DESERT ; 1.1 A Familiar Thought ; 1.2 Some Familiar Questions ; 1.3 Skepticism ; 1.4 Intrinsic Value ; 1.5 Unfamiliar Questions ; PART I: NONCOMPARATIVE DESERT ; 2. FAULT FORFEITS FIRST ; 2.1 The Basic View ; 2.2 Pluralism ; 2.3 Extending the Account ; 2.4 Discount Rates and Multipliers ; 3. DESERT GRAPHS ; 3.1 Graphs ; 3.2 Varying Slopes ; 3.3 Rotation ; 3.4 Peaks ; 3.5 Multiple Peaks ; 3.6 Comparing Sides ; 3.7 Bell Motion ; 3.8 The Sym Mountain ; 3.9 Shift ; 4. SKYLINES ; 4.1 The Occupation of the X Axis ; 4.2 Constant Skylines ; 4.3 The V Shaped Skyline ; 4.4 Varieties of Desert ; 4.5 Taking Stock ; PART II: COMPLICATIONS AND ALTERNATIVES ; 5. OTHER SHAPES ; 5.1 Plateaus ; 5.2 Retributivism and Plateaus ; 5.3 Simple Straight Lines ; 5.4 Bent Lines ; 5.5 Curved Desert ; 5.6 Detailing Curved Desert ; 5.7 Curved Plateaus ; 6. PLACING PEAKS ; 6.1 The Mapping Function ; 6.2 Curved Mapping Functions ; 6.3 Revisiting the Sym Mountain ; 6.4 Revisiting the V Shaped Skyline ; 6.5 Further Constraints on the Skyline ; 6.6 The Logical Limits of Bell Motion ; 6.7 Disaggregation ; PART III: COMPARATIVE DESERT ; 7. THE RATIO VIEW ; 7.1 The Idea of Comparative Desert ; 7.2 Problems for the Ratio View ; 7.3 Optimism ; 7.4 The Impossibility Defense ; 7.5 Absolute Zero ; 8. SIMILAR OFFENSE ; 8.1 The Y Gap View ; 8.2 Reconsidering the Cases ; 8.3 More on the Y Gap Constraint ; 8.4 Percentages ; 8.5 A Fourth View ; 9. GRAPHING COMPARATIVE DESERT ; 9.1 Relative Advantage ; 9.2 Two Problems ; 9.3 Graphing the X Gap View ; 9.4 Motion Along the Y Axis ; 9.5 Graphing the Y Gap View ; 10. VARIATION ; 10.1 Comparative Bell Motion ; 10.2 Comparative Skylines ; 10.3 Moral Significance Again ; 10.4 Two More Possibilities ; 10.5 One Size Fits All ; 10.6 Sliding Up ; 11. GROUPS ; 11.1 Two Approaches ; 11.2 Size ; 11.3 Another Look ; 11.4 Adjusting the Graphs ; 11.5 Variable Steepness Reconsidered ; PART IV: DESERT ; 12. DESERT TAKEN AS A WHOLE ; 12.1 Partial Values ; 12.2 Open Questions ; 12.3 Rough Comparability ; 12.4 Another Series ; 12.5 Other Values ; 13. RESERVATIONS ; 13.1 Deontology ; 13.2 Methodology ; 13.3 Ideology ; Endnotes ; References ; Index