From 3727f836a5179d0622623375215302d58dee1b76 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Sven Nilsen Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2018 23:39:50 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] Added flowchart for the basic problem of ethics --- flowcharts/the-basic-problem-of-ethics.md | 38 +++++++ flowcharts/the-basic-problem-of-ethics.svg | 117 +++++++++++++++++++++ 2 files changed, 155 insertions(+) create mode 100644 flowcharts/the-basic-problem-of-ethics.md create mode 100644 flowcharts/the-basic-problem-of-ethics.svg diff --git a/flowcharts/the-basic-problem-of-ethics.md b/flowcharts/the-basic-problem-of-ethics.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..eb544154 --- /dev/null +++ b/flowcharts/the-basic-problem-of-ethics.md @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +# The basic problem of ethics + +![The basic problem of ethics](./the-basic-problem-of-ethics.svg) + +This diagram was generated using [svgbobrus](https://github.com/ivanceras/svgbobrus) using the following source: + +``` + + "THE BASIC PROBLEM OF ETHICS" + "by Sven Nilsen, 2018" + + "The basic problem of ethics is to justify an action." + + ,------, action₀₁ ,------, + |world₀|---------->|world₁| + '--,---' '--,---' + | | + |evaluation₀ |evaluation₁ + v v + ,--'-----, ? ,---'----, + |utility₀|------->|utility₁| + '--------' '--------' + + "A justification is not just comparing two utilities." + + "Since evaluation depends on the world state," + "it matters for ethics how the utility is evaluated." + + "Since the world state depends on the action taken," + "it matters for ethics how the action changes the world." + + "All these parts matter as a whole:" + "- How worlds are defined" + "- How actions are defined" + "- How evaluations are defined" + "- How utilities are defined" + "- What we mean by justifying an action" +``` diff --git a/flowcharts/the-basic-problem-of-ethics.svg b/flowcharts/the-basic-problem-of-ethics.svg new file mode 100644 index 00000000..f34a3e20 --- /dev/null +++ b/flowcharts/the-basic-problem-of-ethics.svg @@ -0,0 +1,117 @@ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +action₀₁ + + +world₀ + + +world₁ + + +evaluation₀ + + +evaluation₁ + + +? + + +utility₀ + + +utility₁ + + +THE BASIC PROBLEM OF ETHICS + + +by Sven Nilsen, 2018 + + +The basic problem of ethics is to justify an action. + + +A justification is not just comparing two utilities. + + +Since evaluation depends on the world state, + + +it matters for ethics how the utility is evaluated. + + +Since the world state depends on the action taken, + + +it matters for ethics how the action changes the world. + + +All these parts matter as a whole: + + +- How worlds are defined + + +- How actions are defined + + +- How evaluations are defined + + +- How utilities are defined + + +- What we mean by justifying an action + +