Choosing from a Moral Point of View

Abstract

The notion of a moral point of view has a distinguished pedigree. But it has been integrated neither into economic modeling nor political philosophy. We make a preliminary attempt to do this. Specifically, we ask: “What is meant, in general, by a moral point of view? What elements are common to all notions of morality?” In asking these questions we do not seek agreement as to the content, and status of morality. Rather, we are interested in squaring the notion of moral points of view with the decision theoretic models at the base of rationality theory. Further, we are concerned to identify those elements which generate the substantive implications of adopting a moral point of view so that one can eventually analyze which aspects of a moral point of view are required by a modem democracy. We sketch a few of the consequences for social decisions if individuals, either unorganized or within a society, chose from such a point of view rather than some other” “How could you possibly have done that?” says Sheila to her friend Betsy, “You really did the wrong thing.” “I don’t really know,” comes the answer. “I guess I just wasn’t thinking about it clearly; I didn’t have the right perspective on it.” Sheila is obviously talking about some bad choice made by Betsy, but it is hard to conclude much more from those few lines. She could be talking about Betsy’s purchase of a hair dryer without some essential feature, or a decision to take Sheila’s car without permission. In either case, it would not be surprising were Sheila to continue advising her friend as follows “You should have considered your decision from a different point of view! Think about …” Economists assume that an individual making a choice has a unique set of values, but recent evidence does not bear this out (Tversky and Kahneman, 1981 & 1986; as well as Shafir and Tversky, 1994; but also see Sen, 1977 and Margolis, 1982 who were early dissenters from the classic economic point of view). Indeed, Betsy’s response indicates that the (offending) choice was made on the basis of a ‘perspective’ or ‘point of view’ which led her to the wrong decision. The implication: a different perspective might have led to the right choice.