I would describe myself as such: a consequentialist,1 believing that outcomes are the ultimate factor in 'goodness', closer to Mill than Kant; contextualist,2 in that I am not a strict utilitarian and that 'right' depends on context; compatibilist,3 I believe that free will and determinism can logically coexist; empiricist,45 in that I trust evidence gathered through the senses over intuition or authority, like Hume and Locke over Descartes; individualist,6 in that personal freedom should take priority over collective interest; libertarian-leaning,7 in that people should be free to keep what they earn provided it doesn't harm others; meritocratic,8 in that outcomes should track effort and ability rather than be redistributed for fairness's sake where no inherent disadvantages exist; existentialist,9 in that I believe meaning is something we create for ourselves rather than something inherent to life, agreeing with Sartre; progressive,10 in that I see human history as generally moving towards something better over time, agreeing with Condorcet rather than the declinists; and dualist-curious,11 in that I suspect the mind may be more than just the physical brain, despite my empiricist tendencies I have a soft spot for Descartes.
- Gutenberg — Mill, Utilitarianism↩
- SEP on Bernard Williams and his critique of rule-bound morality↩
- SEP, Compatibilism (Frankfurt's hierarchical account)↩
- Gutenberg — Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding↩
- Gutenberg — Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding↩
- Gutenberg — Mill, On Liberty↩
- SEP, Libertarianism (Nozick's framework)↩
- SEP on Hayek↩
- SEP on Sartre and existential psychoanalysis↩
- Liberty Fund — Condorcet, Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind↩
- Gutenberg — Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy↩