It’s quite possible to acknowledge that real agents, including myself, do not have perfect models, nor perfect understanding of their own utility, nor perfect control of their subpersonal modules in order to act in accordance with stated beliefs all the time. Personally, I am not a utilitarian because I think that most utility functions are not consistent, and even if they were I don’t have sufficient knowledge to compare them within myself, let alone across individuals.
In any case, it’s pretty clear that no known actual (non-mythical) agent is perfect in application of whatever ethic they espouse. Everyone behaves more selfishly than they claim to want. No virtue ethicist acts with 100% virtue, no deontologist fails to break a rule occasionally, no consequentialist ALWAYS acts in ways they expect improve future worlds, no utilitarian actually maximizes group utility.
Both guilt and moral outrage share a purpose: they are motivators to be somewhat better than the current state. Importantly, this is a relative measure, not an absolute one. Going to a conference rather than buying mosquito netting is an incorrect action under many/most stated ethical models. Bite that bullet. Next time, maybe you can improve your behavior by actually doing what you say is important.
It’s quite possible to acknowledge that real agents, including myself, do not have perfect models, nor perfect understanding of their own utility, nor perfect control of their subpersonal modules in order to act in accordance with stated beliefs all the time. Personally, I am not a utilitarian because I think that most utility functions are not consistent, and even if they were I don’t have sufficient knowledge to compare them within myself, let alone across individuals.
In any case, it’s pretty clear that no known actual (non-mythical) agent is perfect in application of whatever ethic they espouse. Everyone behaves more selfishly than they claim to want. No virtue ethicist acts with 100% virtue, no deontologist fails to break a rule occasionally, no consequentialist ALWAYS acts in ways they expect improve future worlds, no utilitarian actually maximizes group utility.
Both guilt and moral outrage share a purpose: they are motivators to be somewhat better than the current state. Importantly, this is a relative measure, not an absolute one. Going to a conference rather than buying mosquito netting is an incorrect action under many/most stated ethical models. Bite that bullet. Next time, maybe you can improve your behavior by actually doing what you say is important.