Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2025
Abstract
A narrowly person-affecting (NPA) axiology is an account of the moral ranking of outcomes such that the comparison of any two outcomes depends on the magnitude and weight of individuals’ well-being gains and losses between the two. This article systematically explores NPA axiology. It argues that NPA axiology yields an outcome ranking that satisfies three fundamental axioms: Pareto, Anonymity and, plausibly, Pigou-Dalton. The axiology is neutral to non-well-being considerations (desert); and (assuming well-being measurability) leads to the Repugnant Conclusion (RC). In short, NPA axiology provides a grounding for Paretian, equity-regarding welfarism, albeit one that includes the RC.
Citation
Matthew D. Adler, Narrowly Person-Affecting Axiology: A Reconsideration, 41 Economics & Philosophy 119-160 (2025)
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Well-being--Philosophy, Population--Moral and ethical aspects, Philosophy
Included in
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266267124000166
Available at: https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/faculty_scholarship/4663