Why are some people born into a life of poverty while others are born into a life of luxury? Are the people who were born into wealthy families luckier than people born into poor families, or do poor people deserve to be in their situation. This demonstrates the theory of moral luck. Moral luck is the concept that an agent is assigned moral blame or praise for an action or its consequences, even if the action or its consequences were completely outside the agent’s control. In other words, “Moral luck occurs when an agent can be correctly treated as an object of moral judgment despite the fact that a significant aspect of what she is assessed for depends on factors beyond her control” (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Philosophers such
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Thomas Nagel is an American philosopher who is currently a philosophy professor at New York University. In his essay, published in 1976, Nagel indicates that the problem of moral luck arises from a clash between our application and intuition most people share about morality. He states the intuition as, “Prior to reflection it is intuitively plausible that people cannot be morally assessed for what is not their fault, or for what is due to factors beyond their control” (Nagel 138). Nagel then goes on to give a definition of moral luck. He says, “Where a significant aspect of what someone does depends on factors beyond his control, yet we continue to treat him in that respect as an object of moral judgment, it can be called moral luck” (Statman 59). Even though people have this common intuition about morality, people frequently create moral judgements about others based on factors that are not within their control. For example, Driver A and Driver B are both driving down a road. Driver A momentarily takes their eyes off of the road and runs a red light as a child is crossing the street. Driver A slams on the breaks and tries anything to not hit the child;
Thomas Nagel is an American philosopher who is currently a philosophy professor at New York University. In his essay, published in 1976, Nagel indicates that the problem of moral luck arises from a clash between our application and intuition most people share about morality. He states the intuition as, “Prior to reflection it is intuitively plausible that people cannot be morally assessed for what is not their fault, or for what is due to factors beyond their control” (Nagel 138). Nagel then goes on to give a definition of moral luck. He says, “Where a significant aspect of what someone does depends on factors beyond his control, yet we continue to treat him in that respect as an object of moral judgment, it can be called moral luck” (Statman 59). Even though people have this common intuition about morality, people frequently create moral judgements about others based on factors that are not within their control. For example, Driver A and Driver B are both driving down a road. Driver A momentarily takes their eyes off of the road and runs a red light as a child is crossing the street. Driver A slams on the breaks and tries anything to not hit the child;