Is close enough good enough?

Brown, Campbell ORCID: 0000-0001-9821-9710 (2020) Is close enough good enough? Economics and Philosophy, 36 (1). 29 - 59. ISSN 0266-2671

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Abstract

Should we allow grave harm to befall one individual so as to prevent minor harms befalling sufficiently many other individuals? This is a question of aggregation. Can many small harms 'add up', so that, collectively, they morally outweigh a greater harm? The 'Close Enough View' supports a moderate position: aggregation is permissible when, and only when, the conflicting harms are sufficiently similar, or 'close enough', to each other. This paper surveys a range of formally precise interpretations of this view, and reveals some of the problems they face. It also proposes a novel interpretation which avoids these problems.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/economics-...
Additional Information:	© 2019 Cambridge University Press
Divisions:	Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
Date Deposited:	05 Feb 2019 12:39
Last Modified:	29 Sep 2025 16:21
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/100024

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