T. M. Scanlon's Moral Philosophy

2011/2012

Andreas Maier

Goethe University

Thomas Scanlon is one of the most important contemporary moral philosophers and has significantly influenced various debates in the field of meta- and normative ethics with his works What We Owe To Each Other and Moral Dimensions. In the seminar we will deal with the most important components of Scanlon's theory and their interrelationship. In addition to the justification-oriented variant of contractarianism, these include the 'buck-passing' analysis of values and the conception of moral permissibility developed in the context of the principle of double effect.