Q2: Buck-passing

Question 1

Buck-passing account definition

Answer 1

To call something valuable is to say that it has other properties that provide reasons for behaving in certain ways with respect to it.

To say that something, x, is intrinsically good is just to say that x has lower-level non-evaluative properties that generate reasons to respond to x, either in action or in attitude, for its own sake.

Question 2

Reason to favor a buck-passing account over another view

Answer 2

The concept of a reason to promote something for its own sake, or so one might think, is rather less mysterious than intrinsic value. It is a species of fitting-attitudes account of value.

Question 3

Buck-passing and the word “ought”

Answer 3

Buck-passing avoids the costly term “ought” by using “reasons” instead.

These responses might involve creating, pursuing, promoting, favoring, loving, desiring, or other sorts of positive attitudes

Question 4

‘Tap-Dancin’ Dancy’s Objections to Buck-passing

Dancy against buck-passing:

Answer 4

1. The buck-passing view of goodness is correct iff the buck-passing view of rightness is correct.
2. The verdictive conception of rightness and wrongness is correct.
3. If 2 is true, then the buck-passing view of rightness is false.
4. If 3 is true, then buck-passing view of goodness is false.
5. So, the buck-passing view of goodness is false.

Question 5

Pleasure and buck-passing

Answer 5

If one accepts that pleasure is intrinsically good and that a buck-passing account of intrinsic value is correct, this amounts to claiming that, roughly, we have reason to promote pleasurable states for their own sakes simply because they involve pleasure.

Question 6

The verdictive account of rightness/wrongness:

Answer 6

in trying to determine whether an action is right, we are attempting determine how the balance of reasons lie.
In short: an action is right iff we have most reason to perform it.

But just because something is more right does not make it true so it cannot necessarily add to the reasoning of one thing over another. Same goes for wrongness. Dancy equates rightness with goodness.

Question 7

First objection to tap-dancing argument

Answer 7

First, (towards equivocation) we can seek to identify differences which motivate the buck-passing view of rightness which do not motivate the buck-passing view of goodness, thus pointing to a relevant difference which would justify us in treating these accounts differently.

Question 8

Second objection to tap-dancing argument

Answer 8

Second, we could reject the verdictive conception of rightness. Dancy argues that we could say that the fact that an act is wrong does not give us additional reason to feel guilty, rather, if an act is wrong, we simply do have reason to feel guilty but the fact that the act is wrong doesn’t itself imply a further reason. The reason simply co-occurs with the act’s wrongness. The same can be said for goodness.