The Good Will Claim

1
The Good Will Claim

• Nothing can possibly be conceived in the world,
  or even out of it, which can be called good,
  without qualification, except a Good Will.

2
The Good Will Claim

• What is it to be good without qualification?
• What arent other things good without
  qualification?
• What is the good will and why is it good without
  qualification?

3
The Good Will Claim

• Good without qualification, unconditionally good,
  good in itself, intrinsically good, absolutely
  good, good in all possible worlds.
• A thing is good without qualification if we
  cannot conceive of its ever not being good.
• A thing is good without qualification if we
  cannot imagine a situation in which we wouldnt
  morally approve of it.

4
The Good Will Claim

• A thing that is not good without qualification
  may be good in some circumstances but is not good
  in every conceivable circumstance.
• A thing that is not good without qualification
  is one that, through a thought experiment, we can
  imagine not morally approving of.

5
The Good Will Claim

• Things not good without qualification
• Gifts of fortune (e.g., power, riches, good
  reputation)
• Talents of mind (e.g., intelligence)
• Qualities of temperament (e.g., courage,
  resolution, perseverance)
• Pleasure or happiness (e.g., the pleasure or
  happiness of a sadist)
• Anything else you can think of

6
The Good Will Claim

• Good will
• Willing to do the right thing, not by a mere wish
  but by the summoning of all means in our power.
• We morally approve of the good will in every
  conceivable circumstance.
• Its good not because of what it performs or
  effects but simply in itself.

7
The Good Will Claim

• Consider someone with a good will who is
  ineffective or fails to achieve what she sets out
  to do.
• Do the quality of the results of her actions
  detract from her moral worth?

8
The Good Will Claim

• To have a good will is to will to do the right
  thing.
• But what is the right thing?
• What does a person with a good will try to do?

9
The Categorical Imperative

• To have a good will is to act from the
  Categorical Imperative.
• The Categorical Imperative is a reason for
  action.
• It is a reason for action that is distinct from
  Hypothetical Imperatives.