The Numbers Always Count

Ethics 126 (3):789-802 (2016)
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Abstract

In “How Should We Aggregate Competing Claims?” Alex Voorhoeve develops a theory—Aggregate Relevant Claims (ARC)—which aims to reconcile intuitive judgments for and against aggregating claims in different situations. I argue that ARC does not justify these intuitions but instead ultimately relies on them. We ought not to trust the intuition in favor of nonaggregation, so we ought not to trust ARC. I then show that the nonaggregative part of ARC has a number of unacceptable implications. These problems afflict all nonaggregative theories. Finally, I present a positive argument for full-blooded aggregation. The numbers always count.

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John Halstead
Oxford University

Citations of this work

Limited Aggregation and Risk.Seth Lazar - 2018 - Philosophy and Public Affairs 46 (2):117-159.
The Many, the Few, and the Nature of Value.Daniel Muñoz - 2022 - Ergo: An Open Access Journal of Philosophy 9 (4):70-87.

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References found in this work

Should the numbers count?John Taurek - 1977 - Philosophy and Public Affairs 6 (4):293-316.
In defence of repugnance.Michael Huemer - 2008 - Mind 117 (468):899-933.
Take the sugar.Caspar Hare - 2010 - Analysis 70 (2):237-247.

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