Benefit-Cost Analysis and the Coronavirus — Peter Dorman

A little philosophy (value theory) today.

Personally, I think it would be madness to stick a monetary value on people’s lives and base our policy choices on whether the dollars on one side of the ledger outweigh those on the other. I wrote a book about that a while ago. The considerations that lead us to think primarily in public health terms at a time like this apply just as well to other issues, from food safety to climate change. The economists who crank out monetary values of life and believe all choices should be based on benefit-cost thinking have not yet had the integrity to step forward and make their case. This silence speaks volumes.

Econospeak
Benefit-Cost Analysis and the Coronavirus
Peter Dorman | Professor of Political Economy, The Evergreen State College

See also (dark humor)

Can Ethics Be Taught? — Peter Singer

On a range of ethical issues, philosophy professors specializing in ethics have been found to behave no better than professors working in other areas of philosophy, or than non-philosophy professors. But that doesn't necessarily mean that ethical reasoning is powerless to make people behave more ethically.…

One problem in teaching philosophy is that people are seeking pat answers as it math and science. Life is not cut and dried like that. Most areas are gray, and thus the ongoing controversy over "the enduring questions" that occupy philosophy.

The study of philosophy is about leaning how to think critically and creatively. A major input in this is a review of literature to learn what previous thinkers regarded as "great" thought about these issues.

In ethics there are many thinkers. They can be categorized into the principal approaches to ethics:

• Codified ethics. (Religious codes, institutional policy for example)
• Traditionalist ethics (Cultural norms like taboos)
• Consequentialist ethics. (Utilitarianism for example)
• Deontological ethics (Emphasis on duty and right action)
• Virtue or character ethics. (The "good person" as ethical standard*)
• Situational ethics (Moral choice under uncertainty)

Presumably, studying these traditions and their major exponents provides a foundation for developing one's own ethical approach. This implies that rational inquiry and deliberation is at the basis of action. This is a chief assumption of the Western liberal tradition. 

The Western liberal tradition accepts codified ethics and traditionalist ethics as matter of personal choice rather than for imposition. This is a key reason behind freedom of thought, expression, religion, and association. 

The idea of the Western liberal tradition based on free and open inquiry is that all thinkers and intellectual traditions potentially make contributions, and the ultimate questions are as yet undecided, at least in the sense of not being agreed up universally, so no one can claim to have the ocean in their bucket and be acknowledged by all as correct. 

The age-old question — what does it mean to be a good person in a good society — involves a quest that is both personal and communal.

* A higher bar is set for leaders since they are viewed as setting the standard for the group or society.

Project Syndicate
Can Ethics Be Taught?

Peter Singer | Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, Laureate Professor in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne, and founder of the non-profit organization The Life You Can Save

Massimo Pigliucci — Human Nature and the Ethical Life

Philosophers have been debating human nature for centuries, but in an era of increasing political vitriol and partisanship, the issues at stake are gaining new relevance. To understand what we should expect from our leaders, we must first consider what to expect of ourselves.

The fact that is is appearing at Project Syndicate is an indication of recognition that the enduring question, What does it means to live a good life in a good society, continues to have relevance in practical affairs, including policy.

Project Syndicate
Human Nature and the Ethical Life
Massimo Pigliucci | K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York and author of How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life

Paul Robinson — Stubborn resistance

More on just war theory and liberal interventionism. This is philosophy as critical thinking applied practically, i.e., applied philosophy. I largely agree with Robinson's analysis.

What he omits, and which I take to be crucial, is that the argument in the abstract ignores the relevance of interference to further policy, which involves the interests and policy goals of the interferer. 

This creates a conflict of interest, since it is not a disinterested action any longer but an interested one. Ignoring this in a particular case vitiates the argument by leaving out essential elements of the context in which the situation is embedded and governs the situation.

Irrussianality
Stubborn resistance
Paul Robinson | Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa

Russian Observer

RUSSIAN FEDERATION SITREP 13 SEPTEMBER 2018

Patrick Armstrong

Toni Airaksine — Prof blames mathematics for 'global disparities in wealth

First, Ernest asserts that “the nature of pure of mathematics itself leads to styles of thinking that can be damaging when applied beyond mathematics to social and human issues,” since math facilitates “detached” and “calculative” reasoning....

Second, he argues that the “applications of mathematics in society can be deleterious to our humanity unless very carefully monitored and checked,” worrying particularly about how math facilitates transactions of money and finance....
Finally, Ernest worries of the personal impact math has on “less-successful students,” especially women, since math is often perceived as a “masculine” and “difficult” subject....

Of course, the problem is not math per se but rather the mindset and application involved in its teaching and application in life. With overemphasis on quantitative thinking, taking qualitative thinking can suffer. The "morality" of math and science are philosophical and psychological issues having to do with quality that need to be taken into account in teaching and applying quantitative methods.

There are many more issue around the math and science and women's issues that just teaching. Women didn't suddenly get liberate when the got the vote. Cultural attitudes change slowly.

Campus Reform
Prof blames mathematics for 'global disparities in wealth'Toni Airaksinen, New York Senior Campus Correspondent

James Kwak — The Perfectly Normal Ways Trump Can Enrich Himself as President

The president-elect's control over conventional economic policy could be worth more money than any conflict of interest.…

Along with the many unprecedented problems they create, Donald Trump’s conflicts of interest, as with so many other things, illustrate in striking fashion an existing flaw in American democracy. The problem is corruption: the potential for elected officials to take actions that benefit themselves, their family, their friends, or their business associates rather than the country as a whole.…

James Kwak's complaint is essentially that Donald Trump and his appointment of billionaires to his cabinet has eliminated the middleman in the graft that has enveloped US politics through campaign finance, lobbying and the revolving door.

Previously, the wealthy used elected representatives and unelected political appointees and officers of the court to promote elite interest. Now some of them have decided to eliminate the middleman, but the middleman still exists for the others to take advantage of.

What's the difference other than being more blatant? The result is the same. Time will tell about the scope and scale.

As far as I can tell, this much ado about nothing. Same old, same old with a different twist.

The Atlantic

The Perfectly Normal Ways Trump Can Enrich Himself as President

James Kwak | Associate Professor of Law at the University of Connecticut School of Law

Scotty Hendricks — Virtue Ethics, the Moral System You Have Never Heard of but Have Probably Used

Are you the sort of person who always works for the greater good, or always sticks to moral rules? Perhaps you use a mixture of both? Or, maybe, are you neither of the above? Of course, do you know what you are if you are not one of those two?

While most people are familiar with Consequentialism and Deontology, they might be hard pressed to describe another system. This is for a simple reason, as both systems have been at the forefront of ethics for the last two hundred years. Modern Consequentialism is based heavily on the work of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill in the 1800’s. These philosophers argued that the primary moral good is to maximize the total happiness.

Philosopher Peter Singer is one of the foremost modern consequentialists . Deontology owes its genesis to Immanuel Kant and his categorical imperative which dictated that the acceptable action in any situation is the action which we would will everyone to do in that situation.

There are, of course, other ethical systems. Prominent among them is the idea of Virtue Ethics, the preferred ethics of Socrates, Aristotle, Confucius, Ben Franklin, Nietzsche and Martha Nussbaum. In recent years this school of thought has seen a resurgence in popularity, especially in the reinterpretation of Aristotelian thought.

Virtue ethics differs from Deontology and Consequentialism by focusing on the character of the person rather than the details of a single action. While consequentialism is concerned with the state of the world after an action takes place, and deontology is worried about how closely rules were followed, virtue ethics asks “what does this action say about the character of the actor?” The right thing to do then, is that which demonstrates, encourages, and will habitualise the best character traits....

Big Think
Virtue Ethics, the Moral System You Have Never Heard of but Have Probably Used

Scotty Hendricks, Iowa based writer and educator, and part time philosopher

Daniel Little — What is the role of character in action?

I've been seriously interested in the question of character since being invited to contribute to a volume on the subject a few years ago. That volume, Questions of Character, has now appeared in print, and it is an excellent and engaging contribution. Iskra Fileva was the director of the project and is the editor of the volume, and she did an excellent job in selecting topics and authors. She also wrote an introduction to the volume and introductions to all five parts of the collection. It would be possible to look at Fileva's introductions collectively as a very short book on character by themselves.

So what is "character"? To start, it is a concept of the actor that draws our attention to enduring characteristics of moral and practical propensities, rather than focusing on the moment of choice and the criteria recommended by the ethicist on the basis of which to make choices. Second, it is an idea largely associated with the "virtue" ethics of Aristotle. The other large traditions in the history of ethics -- utilitarianism and Kantian ethics, or consequentialist and deontological theories -- have relatively little to say about character, focusing instead on action, rules, and moral reasoning. And third, it is distinguished from other moral ideas by its close affinity to psychology as well as philosophy. It has to do with the explanation of the behavior of ordinary people, not just philosophical ideas about how people ought to behave.

This is a fundamentally important question for anyone interested in formulating a theory of the actor. To hold that human beings sometimes have "character" is to say that they have enduring features of agency that sometimes drive their actions in ways that override the immediate calculation of costs and benefits, or the immediate satisfaction of preferences. For example, a person might have the virtues of honesty, courage, or fidelity -- leading him or her to tell the truth, resist adversity, or keep commitments and promises, even when there is an advantage to be gained by doing the contrary. Or conceivably a person might have vices -- dishonesty, cruelty, egotism -- that lead him or her to act accordingly -- sometimes against personal advantage....

Understanding Society
What is the role of character in action?
Daniel Little | Chancellor of the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Professor of Philosophy at UM-Dearborn and Professor of Sociology at UM-Ann Arbor

Jonathan Turley — Wikileaks: Top Clinton Aides Detail “Expensive Gifts” and Unethical Deals By Clintons Through Their Foundation

Conflict of interest (unethical but not illegal) or quid pro quo (illegal)?

Wikileaks: Top Clinton Aides Detail “Expensive Gifts” and Unethical Deals By Clintons Through Their Foundation
Jonathan Turley | Professor of Law at The George Washington University Law School

David Z. Morris — Mercedes-Benz's Self-Driving Cars Will Choose Passengers’ Lives over Bystanders’

A simple answer to a complex moral question.

In comments published last week by Car and Driver, Mercedes-Benz executive Christoph von Hugo said that the carmaker’s future autonomous cars will save the car’s driver and passengers, even if that means sacrificing the lives of pedestrians, in a situation where those are the only two options.

“If you know you can save at least one person, at least save that one,” von Hugo said at the Paris Motor Show. “Save the one in the car. If all you know for sure is that one death can be prevented, then that’s your first priority.”

Another liberal paradox: There are no pesky moral questions.

Fortune
Mercedes-Benz's Self-Driving Cars Will Choose Passengers’ Lives over Bystanders’
David Z. Morris

Lord Keynes — Karl Popper on the Paradox of Tolerance

Can liberalism be illiberal in self-defense?

The 21St Century: Social Democracy For Post Keynesian Perspective
Karl Popper on the Paradox of Tolerance
Lord Keynes

This drama is presently being played out in Europe.

Sputnik
Erdogan Dreaming to 'Revive New Ottoman Caliphate'… in Europe

Sandwichman — Game theory and rationality -- the road less traveled

What may have been almost madness in 1960 or 1970 is today stark raving lunacy.

Econospeak
Game theory and rationality -- the road less traveled

Sandwichman

Brian Beutler — The Rehabilitationists

How a small band of determined legal academics set out to persuade the Supreme Court to undo the New Deal—and have almost won.

In case anyone was wondering why philosophy — or call it foundational studies if you think the term "philosophy" is outdated — is important.

As the article observes, Libertarianism is a form of conservatism. However, it is based on an assumption of self-sovereignty that is actually an extreme form of liberalism in that it prioitizes prioritizes individual freedom.

But how can a conservative position be liberal?

The answer lies in the paradoxes of liberalism. Economic liberalism leads to disparity of wealth and income and the de facto institution of social class and political power through economic means. This is anti-democratic, which Libertarian dismisses as the tyranny of the majority over the individual.

So Libertarianism leads to neo-feudalism of "capital" under economics liberalism unrestrained by social and political liberalism through democratic governance based on government of the people, by the people and for the people under popular sovereignty, a pillar of political liberalism.

Conservatism is about rule by most qualified, that is, the privileged few who rise to the top, on the assumption that this is chiefly due to merit when violence is taken off the table under the rule of law in which the basic law is self-autonomy and an absolute right to private property. Sociologists beg to differ.

Libertarians are correct however in arguing that America was founded as conservative country rather than a liberal one as the founding documents and the controversy around their composition and adoption reveal. Slavery was enshrined in the constitution, which is illiberal as it gets.

The American government is that of a republic rather than a popular democracy, which early debate reveals was designed to favor those who able to amass political power, which is typically a matter of wealth in societies in which violence is ruled out as a political tool. The design is to preclude "the rule of the rabble."

The New Republic
The Rehabilitationists
Brian Beutler

Miles Kimball — "Aristotle saw people not as striving to maximize a state of satisfaction, and also not as striving..."

Aristotle saw people not as striving to maximize a state of satisfaction, and also not as striving to perform a list of duties. He saw them, instead, as striving to achieve a life that included all the activities to which, on reflection, they decided to attach intrinsic value.

— Martha Nussbaum, Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education, pages 119-120

Confessions of a Supply Side Liberal
"Aristotle saw people not as striving to maximize a state of satisfaction, and also not as striving..."
Miles Kimball | Professor of Economics and Survey Research at the University of Michigan

Brian T. Watson — Make this go viral: Dear Mr. President

Dear President Obama:

We know that you will see this letter. Although you certainly don’t have a subscription to The Salem News — where this letter first appeared — we are counting on the many vehicles of social media to make our letter go viral — and thus to be brought to your attention.

We are a collection of millions of Democrats, Republicans, independents, Greens, and many other persuasions, and we are joining our diverse voices together in an unusual act of solidarity to request that you take action to reduce the role of money in politics.
Specifically, we request that you issue an executive order that will require all federal contractors to disclose their political spending. That spending would include all contributions — including those now legally hidden — to officials in the executive or congressional branches. It would also include all lobbying of the two branches.

Corporations spend more than $1 billion a year donating to and lobbying Congress and the federal government, and they receive an average of almost $1 trillion a year in contracts. If the monetary relationships between corporations and Congressmen become exposed, we citizens will be able to clearly see the corruption, and perhaps will react against it.

Even the Supreme Court, in its controversial Citizens United decision, said that increased disclosure rules would be wise so that citizens can see if “elected officials are in the pocket of so-called moneyed interests.”

We understand that your order would not address all of the troublesome sources of money in politics. But it would be a substantive and useful start....

The Salem News
Watson: Make this go viral: Dear Mr. President
Brian T. Watson

Tim Johnson — Finance and Mathematics: where is the ethical malaise?

Must-read on mathematics and finance, and the history thereof. Huge amount of information in this relatively short and accessible post.  Hopefully, Tim Johnson will expand it into a longer article or book. Many gems to be mined herein. I will be savoring this for some time.

This is a draft of an article that has been accepted by The Mathematical Intelligencer and offers an argument very similar to Romer's 'mathiness' argument as discussed in my previous post.

Money, Maths and Magic
Finance and Mathematics: where is the ethical malaise?
Tim Johnson | Lecturer (associate professor) in the Department of Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh

William K. Black — McCloskey’s Plea for an Unethical Ethical Response to Corporate Bribery

Bill smacks Deirdre McCloskey down for her obtuse ideas about ethics and corruption.

New Economic Perspectives
McCloskey’s Plea for an Unethical Ethical Response to Corporate Bribery
William K. Black | Associate Professor of Economics and Law, UMKC

digby — Rogue Superpower

In other words, the most powerful nation on earth has no limits and has no obligation to follow any rules, laws or norms.

Welcome to the real world, where there are no rules unless there is an authority and will to impose them. People like Dick Cheney, CEOs that run control frauds,organized crime, etc. knows this and acts accordingly. Get over it.

The only way to deal with this is by gaining that authority and having the will to use it. This is difficult to do. Unless President Obama was liar previous to the election, he thought he would have the authority and will to correct course. It turns out he either didn't have the authority, owing to the way the US government and political system is organized, or didn't have the will to impose it. I think it's a combination of the two.

While one may be shocked and angry over things that governments do, as I am, that's just the way of the world given the level of collective consciousness and the resultant cultural conventions and institutional arrangements at present. 

The US is pretty equally divided on the issue even though the circumstances of torture seem to be clear morally. However, it depends on one's ethical stance. 

According to a broadly accepted version of utilitarian ethics that takes consequences as the criterion, the end justifies the means. Those holding to other versions of utilitarianism, or a version of deontological (rule-based) ethics or virtue (character-based) ethics, this seems abhorrent.

On the other hand, there is also law, and torture is illegal. The only question remains is whether the law was broken, and that is a judicial matter. The president seems not to have the will to proceed on this. In the eyes of many this is a serious character flaw. Some will see it as justified. Others will view it a being pragmatic.

Hullabaloo
Rogue Superpower

digby

David Brendel — How Philosophy Makes You a Better Leader

The goal of most executive coaching and leadership development is behavior change—help the individual identify and change the behaviors that are getting in the way of, and reinforce the behaviors associated with, effective leadership. But what about the beliefs and values that drive behavior? 

The benefits of introspection and reflection on one’s own character and beliefs receive less attention in a typical coaching session than the benefits of behavior change. Perhaps this is not surprising in our fast-paced and technology-driven business world, where there is little time to stop and think, and where people want (and are paying for) immediate outcomes. Despite growing recognition of the benefits of “mindfulness” activities (such as yoga and meditation) and an introverted style, self-reflection on philosophical issues—such as values, character virtues, and wisdom—is relatively neglected. Executive coaching and leadership development programs rarely include much, if anything, about the power of clarifying one’s philosophical world-view. But there is mounting evidence that they should. 

Neuroscience research on self-reflection supports this notion.…

How reflection makes you a better person.

"the life which is unexamined is not worth living." Socrates, in Plato's Apology, 38a

Harvard Business Review — HBR Blog Network
How Philosophy Makes You a Better Leader
David Brendel

Noah Smith — Arbitrary value systems are arbitrary

Noah comments on Matt Bruenig on whack-a-mole.

Matt will be playing Capitalist Whack-a-Mole for all eternity, because unlike classic Whack-a-Mole, the number of holes from which moles can emerge is not finite.

Noahpinion
Arbitrary value systems are arbitrary
Noah Smith | Assistant Professor, Stony Brook University