Ethics Out of EconomicsMany economic problems are also ethical problems: should we value economic equality? how much should we care about preserving the environment? how should medical resources be divided between saving life and enhancing life? This book examines some of the practical issues that lie between economics and ethics, and shows how utility theory can contribute to ethics. John Broome's work has, unusually, combined sophisticated economic and philosophical expertise, and Ethics Out of Economics brings together some of his most important essays, augmented with an updated introduction. The first group of essays deals with the relation between preference and value, the second with various questions about the formal structure of good, and the concluding section with the value of life. This work is of interest and importance for both economists and philosophers, and shows powerfully how economic methods can contribute to moral philosophy. |
Contents
Introduction ethics out of economics | 1 |
Preference and value | 17 |
Utility | 19 |
Extended preferences | 29 |
Discounting the future | 44 |
Can a Humean be moderate? | 68 |
The structure of good | 89 |
BolkerJeffrey expected utility theory and axiomatic utilitarianism | 91 |
Goodness is reducible to betterness the evil of death is the value of life | 162 |
The value of life | 175 |
Trying to value a life | 177 |
Structured and unstructured valuation | 183 |
Qalys | 196 |
The value of living | 214 |
The value of a person | 228 |
Notes | 243 |
Fairness | 111 |
Is incommensurability vagueness? | 123 |
Incommensurable values | 145 |
| 256 | |
| 263 | |
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Common terms and phrases
alternatives argument assume assumption axioms believe benefit betterness relation Bolker-Jeffrey theory candidates cardinal career causal chain chapter choice choose claims comparative conditional cost-benefit analysis death decision theory Derek Parfit determine discount economics economists ences Epicurus equally ethics evaluation example existence expected utility theory extended preferences false future commodities give hard indeterminacy Harsanyi hedonism implies incommensurability indeterminate indifferent instance interest rates John Harsanyi lives lottery market price method Maurice means moderate Humean nonpractical preferences option Parfit particular people's preferences person person's preferences point is Fer population practical preferences preference-satisfaction theory present principles of indifference probability problem qalys question rational reason Reasons and Persons saving social preferences soft indeterminacy sort standard is Fer strict partial ordering structure supervaluation Suppose teleology things tion true unstructured approach Utilitarian Theorem utility function vagueness Weighing welfare economics wellbeing wine worse zero zone of indeterminacy