1.
Jean Hampton (1992) argues that instrumental conceptions of reason are “inescapably normative” (p.347). What this means is that theories that rely on instrumental conceptions of reason cannot escape from the normativity that exists in desires. Normativity in this case can refer to the concept of an “ideal” (p.344) human. The idea human is something that can be used to base our conceptions of good, bad, or irrational actions on. On one hand, A Hobbesian would suggest that “we ought to act morally in the same way that we ought to take our medicine.” In other words, the normative force of a moral authority is something we do to reach a desired effect. We take medicine to get better, we, in accordance to those causal relations. A Hobbesian …show more content…
If there was no normativity in the building blocks of instrumental reason, then where does the ‘ought’ actually come from (348). For example, if there was a moral imperative that suggested if I go to university, then I should want a high paying job at Wells Fargo in the future. Suppose I wanted to go to university but for some reason I don 't want to work at Wells Fargo. It is right to suggest that I should want to work at Wells Fargo even if I do not want to work there. Saying to me that it is wrong for me to not want to work at Wells Fargo suggests some ideal standard. That is to say, saying I ought to do something even if I don’t prefer it presupposes some ideal I should work …show more content…
Mills suggests that the privileged class has the ability to institutionalize contracts that protects the privileged class while suppressing those who are not in this class. For example, the privileged class of white males have social contracts institutionalized to suppress women and people of colour. This suppression may not even be intentional or in ill will. They may just have a willful ignorance to the injustices that are caused by the domination contract. A social contract is an implicit agreement between members of a society to work together for overall social benefit. The consequence of this is that the freedoms people are not respected and this would inhibit our
Jean Hampton (1992) argues that instrumental conceptions of reason are “inescapably normative” (p.347). What this means is that theories that rely on instrumental conceptions of reason cannot escape from the normativity that exists in desires. Normativity in this case can refer to the concept of an “ideal” (p.344) human. The idea human is something that can be used to base our conceptions of good, bad, or irrational actions on. On one hand, A Hobbesian would suggest that “we ought to act morally in the same way that we ought to take our medicine.” In other words, the normative force of a moral authority is something we do to reach a desired effect. We take medicine to get better, we, in accordance to those causal relations. A Hobbesian …show more content…
If there was no normativity in the building blocks of instrumental reason, then where does the ‘ought’ actually come from (348). For example, if there was a moral imperative that suggested if I go to university, then I should want a high paying job at Wells Fargo in the future. Suppose I wanted to go to university but for some reason I don 't want to work at Wells Fargo. It is right to suggest that I should want to work at Wells Fargo even if I do not want to work there. Saying to me that it is wrong for me to not want to work at Wells Fargo suggests some ideal standard. That is to say, saying I ought to do something even if I don’t prefer it presupposes some ideal I should work …show more content…
Mills suggests that the privileged class has the ability to institutionalize contracts that protects the privileged class while suppressing those who are not in this class. For example, the privileged class of white males have social contracts institutionalized to suppress women and people of colour. This suppression may not even be intentional or in ill will. They may just have a willful ignorance to the injustices that are caused by the domination contract. A social contract is an implicit agreement between members of a society to work together for overall social benefit. The consequence of this is that the freedoms people are not respected and this would inhibit our