Lang, GR (2015) How Interesting is the “Boring Problem” for Luck Egalitarianism? Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 91 (3). pp. 698-722. ISSN 0031-8205
Abstract
Imagine a two-person distributive case in which Ernest’s choices yield X and Bertie’s choices yield X + Y, producing an income gap between them of Y. Neither Ernest nor Bertie is responsible for this gap of Y, since neither of them has any control over what the other agent chooses. This is what Susan Hurley calls the “Boring Problem” for luck egalitarianism. Contrary to Hurley’s relatively dismissive treatment of it, it is contended that the Boring Problem poses a deep problem for standard luck egalitarianism. To counter it, luck egalitarianism needs to be recast as a baseline-relative theory. This new version of luck egalitarianism is then put to work against some significant problems that have been encountered by luck egalitarianism: Saul Smilansky’s “Paradox of the Baseline,” the “Partiality Worry,” and the “Pluralism Worry.” But baseline-relative luck egalitarianism is not without problems of its own.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2015, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, LLC. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: "Lang, G. (2015), How Interesting is the “Boring Problem” for Luck Egalitarianism?. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 91: 698–722" which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/phpr.12223. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) > School of Philosophy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 28 May 2015 12:21 |
Last Modified: | 19 Nov 2020 15:02 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/phpr.12223 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/phpr.12223 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:86467 |