The Geometry of Desert - Hardcover

Kagan, Shelly

3.5

6 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199895597 ISBN 13: 9780199895595

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2012

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People differ in terms of how morally deserving they are. And it is a good thing if people get what they deserve. Accordingly, it is important to work out an adequate theory of moral desert. But while certain aspects of such a theory have been frequently discussed in the philosophical literature, many others have been surprisingly neglected. For example, if it is indeed true that it is morally good for people to get what they deserve, does it always do the same amount of good when someone gets what they deserve? Or does it matter how deserving the person is? If we cannot give someone exactly what they deserve, is it better to give too much-or better to give too little? Does being twice as virtuous make you twice as deserving? And how are we to take into account the thought that what you deserve depends in part on how others are doing? The Geometry of Desert explores a number of these less familiar questions, using graphs to illustrate the various possible answers. The result is a more careful investigation into the nature of moral desert than has ever previously been offered, one that reveals desert to have a hidden complexity that most of us have failed to recognize.

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About the Author:

Shelly Kagan is the Clark Professor of Philosophy at Yale, where he has taught since 1995. He was an undergraduate at Wesleyan University, and received his PhD in philosophy from Princeton University in 1982. Before coming to Yale, Professor Kagan taught at the University of Pittsburgh and at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is the author of Death, The Limits of Morality, and the textbook, Normative Ethics. Videos of his undergraduate course on Death have been extremely popular online.

Review:

"The Geometry of Desert is a model of analytic rigor, clarity, and thoroughness. An enormous amount of thought, care, and effort went into writing this book, which explores the possibilities for the design and use of graphs in numerous settings and with considerable originality and inventiveness."--Saul Smilansky, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

"Every few years a book appears that every philosopher, at least every philosopher in a particular field, must read. This volume by Kagan is such a book. It will be the subject of many graduate seminars and dissertations in the coming years.... Essential."--H. Oberdiek, CHOICE

"The Geometry of Desert is an extraordinary accomplishment. It is the most comprehensive and thoughtful discussion of the topic of desert in the literature."--Larry Temkin, Rutgers University

"Kagan in this book has set a high standard for how much of that edifice can be revealed and how well its parts can be seen to fit together." -- Ethics

"The Geometry of Desert is essential reading for those who value moral desert, but it also has a great deal to offer those who do not." -- Mind

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