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person1980s-present

Peter Railton

Disciplines:
ethics/metaethics
psychology/moral psychology

Summary

American philosopher who has developed sophisticated consequentialism and a naturalistic moral realism — contributing centrally to debates about the relationship between facts and values.

Core Contribution

Facts, Values, and Norms: essays on moral epistemology and naturalism. Sophisticated consequentialism: act utilitarianism with a disposition to follow rules (a disposition utilitarian might do better by not always calculating). Moral realism: moral properties are real natural properties — reducing wrongness to features that harm welfare.

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • Sophisticated consequentialism: a person might maximize aggregate good better by not always asking 'what maximizes aggregate good?' — a consequentialist who calculates constantly is likely to be less trustworthy, less loving, and less effective than one who has internalized good dispositions.

Notable Works & Achievements

Facts, Values, and Norms

Alienation, Consequentialism, and the Demands of Morality

Historical Influences

John Rawls Derek Parfit

Intellectual Lineage

Analytic Ethics

Contemporaries & Peers

David Brink Frank Jackson

Minds Influenced

No recorded minds influenced.

Intellectual Posterity

Sophisticated ConsequentialismNaturalistic Moral Realism

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