Barreldriver
09-24-2011, 05:15 PM
I've taken a few philosophical courses in college (intro to philosophy and intro to ethics, will be taking more in future semesters), recently the class I'm in just got done with a unit on ethical egoism, I having thought myself an egoist of sorts had been made aware of certain short comings with egoism as a rule, one of these that I am interested in discussing being the principle of equal treatment.
Lets say that I have the last remaining bottle of water on earth and all of us are dying of thirst.
If I am not mistaken according to the Principle of Equal Treatment all of us have an equal right to have our thirsts quenched as no one is inherently more deserving than another as human beings and we cannot place people into categories of worth due to the intrinsic value of human life.
Is it not proper for me to utilize my water effectively? This would require that since I am the "savior" of the thirsty that I quench my thirst first so that I can assist the thirsty nearest to myself as if I were to attempt a long distance transit the water supply would be placed at a higher risk of being lost. Conserving the water as such requires placing people into categories contrary to the principle of equal treatment does it not?
Would such a scenario make the Principle of Equal Treatment an invalid criticism to combat Ethical Egoism?
Lets say that I have the last remaining bottle of water on earth and all of us are dying of thirst.
If I am not mistaken according to the Principle of Equal Treatment all of us have an equal right to have our thirsts quenched as no one is inherently more deserving than another as human beings and we cannot place people into categories of worth due to the intrinsic value of human life.
Is it not proper for me to utilize my water effectively? This would require that since I am the "savior" of the thirsty that I quench my thirst first so that I can assist the thirsty nearest to myself as if I were to attempt a long distance transit the water supply would be placed at a higher risk of being lost. Conserving the water as such requires placing people into categories contrary to the principle of equal treatment does it not?
Would such a scenario make the Principle of Equal Treatment an invalid criticism to combat Ethical Egoism?