Iain King (born 1971) is a contemporary British moral philosopher. He studied at Pembroke College, Oxford, and was latterly a Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge. Outside philosophy, he has written on Kosovo, the Northern Ireland Peace Process, and postwar reconstruction. Living philosophers and academics of philosophy (and others important in the history of philosophy), listed alphabetically: (For philosophers who have recently passed away, see the companion list: List of philosophers born in the twentieth century. ... Analytic philosophy is a generic term for a style of philosophy that came to prominence during the 20th Century. ... In epistemology and in its broadest sense, rationalism is any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification (Lacey 286). ... The word cognitivism is used in several ways: In ethics, cognitivism is the philosophical view that ethical sentences express propositions, and hence are capable of being true or false. ... Ethics (from the Ancient Greek Ä“thikos, the adjective of Ä“thos custom, habit), a major branch of philosophy, including genetics is the study of values and customs of a person or group. ... In philosophy, meta-ethics or analytic ethics [1] is the branch of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties, and ethical statements, attitudes, and judgments. ... Quasi-realism is an expressivist meta-ethical theory propounded by Simon Blackburn which asserts that whilst our moral claims are projectivist we understand them in realist terms as part of our ethical experience of the world. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Political philosophy is the study of fundamental questions about the state, government, politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why (or even if) they are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what... Philosophy of religion is the rational study of the meaning and justification ( or rebuttal) of fundamental religious claims, particularly about the nature and existence of God (or gods, or the divine). ... David Hume (April 26, 1711 – August 25, 1776)[1] was a Scottish philosopher, economist, and historian. ... For other persons named Peter Singer, see Peter Singer (disambiguation). ... Simon Blackburn (born 1944) is a British academic philosopher also known for his efforts to popularise philosophy. ... Sir Isaac Newton, (4 January 1643 – 31 March 1727) [ OS: 25 December 1642 – 20 March 1727][1] was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, and alchemist, regarded by many as the greatest figure in the history of science. ... Immanuel Kant (22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804), was a German philosopher from Königsberg in East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). ... Jeremy Bentham (IPA: or ) (February 15, 1748 O.S. (February 26, 1748 N.S.) – June 6, 1832) was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. ... Ethics (from the Ancient Greek ethikos, meaning arising from habit), a major branch of philosophy, is the study of value or quality. ... College name Pembroke College Collegium Pembrochianum Named after The Earl of Pembroke Established 1624 Sister College Queens College Master Giles Henderson JCR President Dawn Rennie Undergraduates 408 MCR President Ross Nicolson Graduates 119 College Homepage Boat Club The lodge and the entrance to Pembroke College in Pembroke Square. ... Full name Wolfson College Motto Ring True Named after The Wolfson Foundation Previous names University College, Wolfson College (1972) Established 1965 Sister College Linacre College President Dr Gordon Johnson Location Barton Road Undergraduates 90 Graduates 510 Homepage Boatclub Wolfson College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of... For uses of the name Kosova, see Kosova (disambiguation). ... When discussing the history of Northern Ireland, the peace process is generally considered to cover the events leading up to the 1994 IRA ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of The Troubles, the Belfast (or Good Friday) Agreement, and subsequent political developments. ... Postwar reconstruction is usually used as a term for reconstruction after a war. Post (meaning after) war (meaning fighting of a sorts) and reconstruction meaning (in a sense (rebuilding). ...

Iain King's theories of meta-ethics and ethics try to reconcile several divergent schools of thought. In the manner of early enlightenment philosophers, King's stated aim is to apply the scientific revolution to ethics just as Isaac Newton applied it to physics, thereby replacing commonplace guesswork and judgement in matters of right and wrong with clear formulas for what people should do in difficult situations, all justified by deductive proof rather than opinion.^[1] He also tries to reconcile a definitive account of right and wrong with the possibility of different but equally justified opinions, for example resulting from cultural or reasonable political differences. In philosophy, meta-ethics or analytic ethics [1] is the branch of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties, and ethical statements, attitudes, and judgments. ... Ethics (from the Ancient Greek ēthikos, the adjective of ēthos custom, habit), a major branch of philosophy, including genetics is the study of values and customs of a person or group. ... Look up Enlightenment in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The event which most historians of science call the scientific revolution can be dated roughly as having begun in 1543, the year in which Nicolaus Copernicus published his De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) and Andreas Vesalius published his De humani corporis fabrica (On the... Sir Isaac Newton, (4 January 1643 – 31 March 1727) [ OS: 25 December 1642 – 20 March 1727][1] was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, and alchemist, regarded by many as the greatest figure in the history of science. ... Physics (Greek: (phúsis), nature and (phusiké), knowledge of nature) is the branch of science concerned with the fundamental laws of the universe. ... In mathematics and in the sciences, a formula (plural: formulae, formulæ or formulas) is a concise way of expressing information symbolically (as in a mathematical or chemical formula), or a general relationship between quantities. ... Deductive reasoning is the kind of reasoning in which the conclusion is necessitated by, or reached from, previously known facts (the premises). ...

Influences

King's influences include deontological ethics drawn from Immanuel Kant, R. M. Hare and John Rawls; virtue theory associated with Aristotle and the philosophers of Ancient Greece; the tradition of David Hume, in particular the quasi-realism espoused by his contemporary disciple, professor Simon Blackburn; and the utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and Peter Singer. This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Immanuel Kant (22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804), was a German philosopher from Königsberg in East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). ... R.M. Hare Richard Mervyn Hare (March 21, 1919 – January 29, 2002) was an English moral philosopher, who held the post of Whites Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford from 1966 until 1983. ... John Rawls (February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American philosopher, a professor of political philosophy at Harvard University and author of A Theory of Justice (1971), Political Liberalism, Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, and The Law of Peoples. ... Virtue (Greek αρετη; Latin virtus) is the habitual, well-established, readiness or disposition of mans powers directing them to some goodness of act. ... Aristotle (Greek: Aristotélēs) (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... The Temple to Athena, the Parthenon Ancient Greece is a period in Greek history that lasted for around three thousand years. ... David Hume (April 26, 1711 – August 25, 1776)[1] was a Scottish philosopher, economist, and historian. ... Quasi-realism is an expressivist meta-ethical theory propounded by Simon Blackburn which asserts that whilst our moral claims are projectivist we understand them in realist terms as part of our ethical experience of the world. ... Simon Blackburn (born 1944) is a British academic philosopher also known for his efforts to popularise philosophy. ... Utilitarianism (1861), see Utilitarianism (book). ... Jeremy Bentham (IPA: or ) (February 15, 1748 O.S. (February 26, 1748 N.S.) – June 6, 1832) was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. ... John Stuart Mill (20th May 1806 – 8th May 1873), a British philosopher and political economist, was an influential liberal thinker of the 19th century. ... For other persons named Peter Singer, see Peter Singer (disambiguation). ...

Meta-ethics

King presents his main theory as a correction of utilitarianism, with which he identifies seven flaws. But rather than then dismissing the theory as other critics have done (see Bernard Williams on this), he seeks to correct them one by one, and thereby creates a radically different theory which enjoys all the positive attributes of utilitarianism without any of the drawbacks. This approach forces him to construct a new meta-ethics upon which to base his account of right and wrong. Bernard Arthur Owen Williams (September 21, 1929 – June 10, 2003) was a British philosopher, widely cited as the most important British moral philosopher of his time. ... In philosophy, meta-ethics or analytic ethics [1] is the branch of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties, and ethical statements, attitudes, and judgments. ...

For a starting point he argues that we should all seek value because it may be there to be found and, if not, there is nothing to lose by seeking it. This rationalist argument is a humanist reworking of Pascal's Wager which advocates believing in God on the basis of probability and the precautionary principle, and is vulnerable to some of the same criticisms; it may also be circular. King’s assertion that ‘the meaning of life is to seek value’ ^[2] is contentious. In epistemology and in its broadest sense, rationalism is any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification (Lacey 286). ... Humanist may refer to: a scholar or academic in the Humanities a proponent of the group of ethical stances referred to as Humanism a long-running email discussion list on humanities computing in typography, a group of sans-serif typefaces with some calligraphic features, such as Humana, Optima, Frutiger, Johnston... Pascals Wager is the application by the French philosopher, Blaise Pascal, of decision theory to the belief in God (also known as Pascals Gambit). ... Probability is the chance that something is likely to happen or be the case. ... The precautionary principle is a moral and political principle which states that if an action or policy might cause severe or irreversible harm to the public, in the absence of a scientific consensus that harm would not ensue, the burden of proof falls on those who would advocate taking the...

From ‘seek value’, King takes two complementary routes to what he describes as the ‘DNA of right and wrong – empathy and obligation.’^[3] First, in line with David Hume and Adam Smith, he argues that value for individuals requires good social relations which, in turn, requires people to share genuine sympathy – not just mutual self-interest, but real concern for each other; hence, seeking value requires empathy. The second draws on 20th century ordinary language philosophy and Quasi-realism to argue that empathy and obligation uniquely match all we can know about words like ‘should’ and ‘ought’. The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions for the development and function of living organisms. ... David Hume (April 26, 1711 – August 25, 1776)[1] was a Scottish philosopher, economist, and historian. ... Adam Smith FRSE (baptised June 5, 1723 O.S. / June 16 N.S. – July 17, 1790) was a Scottish moral philosopher and a pioneering political economist. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Quasi-realism is an expressivist meta-ethical theory propounded by Simon Blackburn which asserts that whilst our moral claims are projectivist we understand them in realist terms as part of our ethical experience of the world. ...

The help principle

Empathy and obligation lead automatically to the Help Principle, which King expresses in two forms. First, the basic form:

• Help someone if your help is worth more to them than it is to you. ^[4]

Then, after some refinement, in the final form as: Help is a word used to indicate distress or the need for assistance. ...

• Help someone if the all-time direct value of your help is worth more to them than it is to you. ^[5]

From this Help Principle he then derives a raft of ethical principles, including ways to judge actions by their consequences. King’s meta-ethical theory therefore transcends the debate about whether right and wrong concern characteristics (virtue ethics), actions (deontological ethics) and outcomes (consequentialism) – he presents it as all three, and draws an analogy with light which behaves as waves in some situations and as particles in others. ^[6] This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Consequentialism refers to those moral theories that hold that the consequences of a particular action form the basis for any valid moral judgment about that action. ... In physics, a particle is an object, or body, with only a few degrees-of-freedom, including position, and perhaps orientation in space. ...

Ethics

Ethical principles

King develops an intermediate set of principles to bridge the gap between meta-ethics and ethics, derived by deductive reasoning from the Help Principle. King goes to considerable lengths to show that these secondary rules and principles follow automatically from empathy, obligation and the Help Principle, to establish them as axioms of ethics rather than opinions. They include: In philosophy, meta-ethics or analytic ethics [1] is the branch of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties, and ethical statements, attitudes, and judgments. ... Ethics (from the Ancient Greek Ä“thikos, the adjective of Ä“thos custom, habit), a major branch of philosophy, including genetics is the study of values and customs of a person or group. ... Deductive reasoning is the kind of reasoning in which the conclusion is necessitated by, or reached from, previously known facts (the premises). ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

• The autonomy principle – Let people choose their own help, unless you know their interests better than they do (which chimes with liberalism).
• The reciprocity rule - Apply the Help Principle to others as much as they would apply it themselves (which links to modern game theory and is developed by contrasting Islamic and Christian notions of reciprocity and forgiveness).
• The humility rule - Help others with humility and express gratitude for help you receive (which draws on Jewish philosopher Maimonides).
• The direct help rule - Treat people according to their own wants and intentions, not by what others want of them (which is distinctly Kantian). ^[7]

From these, he offers clear moral guidelines, some of which run against established thinking. He covers a range of areas, including: Look up autonomy, autonomous in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Game theory is often described as a branch of applied mathematics and economics that studies situations where players choose different actions in an attempt to maximize their returns. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ... Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (April 22, 1724 – February 12, 1804) was a Prussian philosopher, generally regarded as one of Europes most influential thinkers and the last major philosopher of the Enlightenment. ...

On lying

King dismisses the common rule ‘don’t lie’ as hypocritical because most people lie quite often. Arguing that lies can sometimes serve good purposes, he derives from his axioms of ethics:

• Communicate so people can do what’s best for the real circumstances;
• A justified lie requires a reason to believe the hearer would not act appropriately if told the truth;
• You should deceive only if you can change behaviour in a way worth more than the trust you would lose, were the deception found out; and
• Lies should only be told on special occasions; and
• Deliberately allowing someone to believe a falsehood amounts to a spoken lie. ^[8]

King uses a similar approach to deduce rules on making and breaking promises. ^[9]

On romance

King tries to establish clear rules for sexual conduct and romance. The strict requirement that these rules can apply independent of cultural settings means that the resulting norms are somewhat bland, although they do generally imply a liberal line. ^[10]

On decision-making in groups

King seeks a third way between majoritarian and individualistic approaches to decision-making in groups. He derives two rules from his axioms: Third way can refer to: The Third Way, an economic and political idea that positions itself between democratic socialism and laissez-faire capitalism, combining the ordoliberal social market with neo-liberalism. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Individualism is a term used to describe a moral, political, or social outlook that stresses human independence and the importance of individual self-reliance and liberty. ...

• In small groups, choose whichever option benefits any individual the most.
• In large groups, choose whichever option has the best all-time outcome, by adding up the benefits and losses to people of each option. ^[11]

He then tries to show how the two are compatible, and that the division between small and large depends on how much an individual can reciprocate help.

His conclusions have important implications when rights clash with democratic demands. King’s work suggests rights are not inalienable, and that they can occasionally be overruled when there is an overwhelming public interest. However, unlike Jeremy Bentham who famously dismissed rights as nonsense upon stilts, King provides a further justification for rights as a safeguard when facts are uncertain, through his theory of conventions. For the direction right, see left and right or starboard. ... Democracy (literally rule by the people, from the Greek demos, people, and krateo, rule[1]) is a form of government. ... The term inalienable rights (or unalienable rights) refers to a set of human rights that are in some sense fundamental, are not awarded by human power, and cannot be surrendered. ... Public interest is a term used to denote political movements and organizations that are in the public interest—supporting general public and civic causes, in opposition of private and corporate ones (particularistic goals). ... Jeremy Bentham (IPA: or ) (February 15, 1748 O.S. (February 26, 1748 N.S.) – June 6, 1832) was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. ...

On punishment

King tries to reconcile utilitarian notions of punishment with more intuitively appealing approaches, such as restorative and retributive justice. He does this through the concept of all-time value, which he derives from his contention that the morality of actions is independent of the time they take place. This enables hypothetical consequences in the past (eg the deterrence effect a punishment may have had) to be treated as equivalent to the impact in the future (ie the effect of the punishment). Thus, he concludes punishments for crimes should be based upon what would have been necesssary to deter them, justifying a punishment should fit the crime approach, although he nuances this conclusion with caveats.^[12] Look up Punishment in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Restorative justice is a theory of criminal justice that focuses on crime as an act against another individual or community rather than the state. ... It has been suggested that Proportional justice be merged into this article or section. ...

On poverty reduction

King derives a proof for substantial increases in the amount of money given to alleviate lethal poverty abroad, echoing Peter Singer and the Make Poverty History campaign. He calculates a typical worker in the UK should devote 0.75% of their income to a development charities for this. ^[13] For other persons named Peter Singer, see Peter Singer (disambiguation). ... // The Make Poverty History campaign (which is written as MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY) was a British and Irish coalition of charities, religious groups, trade unions, campaigning groups and celebrities who mobilized around the UKs prominence in world politics in 2005 to increase awareness and pressure governments into taking actions towards relieving absolute... A charitable organization (also known as a charity) is a trust, company or unincorporated association established for charitable purposes only. ...

On social justice

King argues that his Help Principle leads to three clear principles of social justice. One of these should appeal to Marxists who favour distributing wealth according to need, one to Thatcherites, Reaganites and other right wing thinkers who favour distribution according to effort, and one to pragmatists who emphasise practical issues. By trying to accommodate all three positions, King attempts to reconcile the radical political left, the radical right, and conservative centrism: This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Marxism takes its name from the praxis — the synthesis of philosophy and political action — of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ... Margaret Thatcher Thatcherism is the system of political thought attributed to the governments of Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981 – 1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967 – 1975). ... Look up Radical in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... “Leftism” redirects here. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Left-Right politics. ... This article deals with conservatism as a political philosophy. ... In politics, centrism usually refers to the political ideal of promoting moderate policies which land in the middle ground between different political extremes. ...

If everybody in the world applied the Help Principle to everybody else, then there would be only four reasons why people had different levels of wealth: because they had worked harder than others; because they needed things more; because transferring resources would diminish the value of the help given; and because of voluntary gambles. We can ignore voluntary gambles because of the autonomy principle - if people want to take a chance on becoming richer or poorer that is up to them. That means we should only be concerned by the first three: efforts invested, benefits to be had, and problems transferring wealth between people. ^[14]

On religion

King is a humanist who argues that mapping out ethics rationally can dispel mystery from the subject and leave religion with no role in prescribing right and wrong. Just as Evolutionary Theory squeezed mystery out of creation taking religion with it, religion can now be displaced from ethics, too. He backs up this claim with arguments to show the redundancy of religion in moral matters, suggesting, for example, that if ‘God is Love’, then by Occam’s Razor, we should just concentrate on love. ^[15] Citing the barbarism of the Aztec faith^[16], he argues that some religions advocate bad actions, others good, so something other than religion is needed to adjudicate between them. He dismisses the widespread feeling of benevolence as a basis for religion, arguing that paranoia, infatuation and depression are equally common and again, something other than religion is needed to elevate benevolence above the others. Finally, he presents the possibility of an ‘anti-God’, and suggests there is no reason to obey any God over its equal and opposite anti-God which is both valid and non-circular. ^[17] Humanism[1] is a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appeal to universal human qualities—particularly rationalism. ... This article is about biological evolution. ... Creationism is the belief that humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe were created in their entirety by a supernatural deity (typically God), the existence of which is presupposed. ... William of Ockham Occams razor (also spelled Ockhams razor) is a principle attributed to the 14th-century English logician and Franciscan friar William of Ockham (Guilhelmi Ockam and Guillermi de Ockam in Latin [1]). Originally a tenet of the reductionist philosophy of nominalism, it is more often taken... The Aztecs is a collective term used for all of the Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican peoples under the control of the Mexica, founders of Tenochtitlan, and their two principal allies, who built an extensive empire in the late Postclassic period in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries in Central Mexico. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Despite these attacks, King regards religion as a repository of accumulated wisdom^[18] and draws on aspects of Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism to bolster his arguments. Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion and a philosophy. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Justifying cultural difference and the theory of conventions

Having established universal principles for right and wrong, King is forced to explain moral pluralism (ie the co-existence of equally justified accounts of right and wrong, for example in difficult cultures). For this he sets out a theory of conventions: guidelines used when people lack perfect knowledge of the world around them, which include etiquette and laws. Moral dilemmas arise when these conventions clash. By setting out when one convention is better than another and when these conventions should co-exist, he offers a means to tackle moral dilemmas, and defines limits for different customs to be justified by cultural diversity - for example, different table manners are allowed, while female genital cutting is not. ^[19] Value-pluralism is the idea that two or more moral values may be equally ultimate (true), yet in conflict. ... The word norm coming from the latin word norma which means angle measure or (lawlike) rule, has a number of meanings: A social or sociological norm; see norm (sociology). ... It has been suggested that Office etiquette be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that Fork etiquette be merged into this article or section. ... Female genital cutting (FGC) refers to the excision or tissue removal of any part of the female genitalia for cultural, religious or other non-medical reasons. ...

Kosovo and postwar reconstruction

King spent four years administering post-war Kosovo with the United Nations, an experience which clearly influenced his work. King describes a duty to intervene in situations like Kosovo and Iraq, but has written about the immense practical difficulties involved in Postwar reconstruction, recognising that these need to be taken into account before any action begins. His 2006 book Peace at Any Price: How the World Failed Kosovo ^[20], co-written with Whit Mason, and described by the The Economist as "serious and well-considered... an excellent and timely book" ^[21]highlights the rule of law and addressing inter-ethnic animosity as key priorities which were neglected in the Postwar reconstruction effort ^[22]. The book generally identifies systematic failings rather than blaming individuals, and offers remedial lessons for future missions. For uses of the name Kosova, see Kosova (disambiguation). ... The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... Postwar reconstruction is usually used as a term for reconstruction after a war. Post (meaning after) war (meaning fighting of a sorts) and reconstruction meaning (in a sense (rebuilding). ... The Economist is a weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd and edited in London, UK. It has been in continuous publication since September 1843. ... An ethnic group or ethnicity is a population of human beings whose members identify with each other, usually on the basis of a presumed common genealogy or ancestry (Smith 1987). ... Postwar reconstruction is usually used as a term for reconstruction after a war. Post (meaning after) war (meaning fighting of a sorts) and reconstruction meaning (in a sense (rebuilding). ...

Criticisms

• King evades several sceptical challenges, such as whether other minds exist and the problem of induction. Unusually for a humanist, he makes tacit assumptions based on Thomas Reid’s six axioms of common sense, but does not make these assumptions explicit. ^[23]
• King cannot set out a Grand Unification Theory of ethics because this is an impossible snipe hunt – Kant, Hume and Mill say very different things, and no amount of sophistry from King can smooth over their differences. For example, King’s rules on lying are neither Kantian or utilitarian. (When King adopts the premises but not the conclusions of arguments like Kant's, he tries to identify a flaw in these theories to show how their arguments may not be valid.) ^[24]
• King’s ambitious bid to cover everything forces him to explain how all rival theories either comply with his own or dismiss them. His dismissals of fictionalism, the Golden Rule and relativism are more like demarcations of their applicability than knockout blows. Thus, his main argument is not so much 'This is right and wrong', rather, 'if you think right and wrong are useful concepts, then this is what your right and wrong should be'. In this sense, his meta-ethical theory is essentially quasi-realist, and vulnerable to the same criticisms as Simon Blackburn's theory from which it is derived. ^[25]
• King’s theory considers only individual action, not collective action or action undertaken by institutions, which is central to politics and sociology. ^[26]
• King has so far presented the major part of his philosophical theory only in |talks, lectures and online – not in print. This may have enabled him to refine his views, but it also makes them hard to grapple with.^[27]

The problem of induction is the philosophical issue involved in deciding the place of induction in determining empirical truth. ... Thomas Reid Thomas Reid (April 26, 1710 – October 7, 1796), Scottish philosopher, and a contemporary of David Hume, was the founder of the Scottish School of Common Sense, and played an integral role in the Scottish Enlightenment. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Unified field theory. ... A snipe hunt, also known as a fools errand or wild goose chase, is one of a class of practical jokes that involves experienced people making fun of newcomers by giving them an impossible or imaginary task. ... Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (April 22, 1724 – February 12, 1804) was a Prussian philosopher, generally regarded as one of Europes most influential thinkers and the last major philosopher of the Enlightenment. ... Hume is the name of several people: Most likely it refers to: David Hume, (1711-76) 18th-century Scottish philosopher It can also refer to: Alexander Hamilton Hume (1797-1873) Australian explorer Allan Octavian Hume, English ornithologist Basil Cardinal Hume, former Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster Brit Hume, journalist best known... The term mill, depending on context, can refer to: Mill (factory) – a place of business for making articles of manufacture; e. ... Sophism (gr. ... In psychology a conclusion is said to be valid, if and only if, it is based on true premises. ... Fictionalism is a doctrine in philosophy that suggests that statements of a certain sort should not be taken to be literally true, but merely a useful fiction. ... The hi niko ethic of reciprocity or Sup Zachhmo Golden Rule is a fundamental moral principle found in virtually all major religions and cultures, which simply means It is arguably the most essential basis for the modern concept of human rights. ... Compare Moral relativism, Aesthetic relativism, Social constructionism and Cultural relativism. ... Quasi-realism is an expressivist meta-ethical theory propounded by Simon Blackburn which asserts that whilst our moral claims are projectivist we understand them in realist terms as part of our ethical experience of the world. ... Simon Blackburn (born 1944) is a British academic philosopher also known for his efforts to popularise philosophy. ... Politics is the process by which groups make decisions. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Publications

• ISBN-10 0801445396 – Cornell University Press, 2006
• ISBN-10 1850658420 – Hurst Publications, 2006
• ISBN-13 978-0801445392 – Cornell University Press, 2006

Notes

1. ^ ‘Talk’, Cambridge 2005
2. ^ ‘Talk’, Cambridge 2005
3. ^ ‘Talk’, Cambridge 2005
4. ^ ‘Talk’, Cambridge 2005; Oxford lecture 2004
5. ^ ‘Talk’, Cambridge 2005; Oxford lecture 2004
6. ^ Oxford lecture 2004
7. ^ ‘Talk, Cambridge 2005 and Oxford lecture 2004
8. ^ Stockholm 2007
9. ^ ‘Talk’, Cambridge 2005
10. ^ ‘Talk’, Cambridge 2005
11. ^ ‘Talk’, Cambridge 2005; Oxford lecture 2004
12. ^ Leo Zaibert, Punishment And Retribution (Ashgate Publishing 2006).
13. ^ Stockholm 2007; Oxford lecture 2004
14. ^ ‘Talk, Cambridge 2005
15. ^ Oxford lecture 2004
16. ^ Stockholm 2007
17. ^ ‘Talk, Cambridge 2005
18. ^ ‘Talk, Cambridge 2005
19. ^ Stockholm 2007
20. ^ | ISBN-10: 0801445396
21. ^ [1]
22. ^ Realist Review
23. ^ ‘Talk’, Cambridge 2005
24. ^ ‘Talk’, Cambridge 2005
25. ^ ‘Talk’, Cambridge 2005
26. ^ ‘Talk’, Cambridge 2005
27. ^ ‘Talk’, Cambridge 2005

External Links

• Cornell University Press
• United Nations Mission in Kosovo
• British Humanist Association
• Wolfson College, Cambridge
• Westminster Foundation for Democracy
• General Philosophical discussion
• David Hume Society
• Kosovo talk event