PHIL 356 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Autonomous Agent, Seat Belt
Document Summary
A proposal: the ideal dr-patient relation is one in which i) the doctor learns what matters to the patient/what his conception of a good life is, ii) makes her recommendation without consulting the patient, or explaining her reasoning. One"s bias can lead to someone underestimate the risks. Creatures of own instinct can"t call their own choices; they do what they"re supposed to do. However we are different even though we have instincts; we ask ourselves what are our desires. Robust conception: her choice reflects her evaluation of the desires, etc. that move her to make it. Weaker conception: her choice reflects her evaluation of the options of which she is aware autonomy/self-government vs. liberty/opportunity. We are morally obligated to respect one another"s autonomy because. Autonomous agents have a special value/dignity that cannot be properly acknowledged without treating their capacity for autonomy choice as a constraint on our own choices. Agents have a very strong interest in exercising this capacity.
