60, precepts
• agents of reason conform more-or-less to the autotelic principle and together
enforce it in society as moral law, particularly in modern (aka Western)
democracies where it informs the basic structure of society
: re `informs the basic structure of society` cf.
https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.torontopubliclibrary.ca/doi/full/10.1177/07352751231169012
: ‘a recurrent conflict between security and freedom that has marked the
evolution of capitalism’, referring to a dichotomy that accords (at least)
with that of the two rights enforced
+ seek further confirmation of this dichotomy,
which I claim is basic to modern society
• the autotelic principle is enforceable by means that are logically incontestable,
even in a plural society, viz. tolerant of varied conceptions of morality
- formally the principle is a moral law, definitive of right
\ the principle must be a moral law in itself (not merely in how one takes it), else we could not
\ hang rights on it, meaning that in practice it might entail willing the sacrifice of innocents
∵ a moral law = an absolute norm
∵ the principle is an absolute norm
∵ an absolute norm = a norm applicable in all contexts
∵ the principle is a norm applicable in all contexts
∵ the principle is a norm
∵ a principle = a norm
∵ the principle is applicable in all contexts
∵ the principle is applicable in all contexts involving reason
∵ normativity itself entails (involves necessarily) reason
∵ normativity entails practice
∵ practice entails practical reason
∵ practice entails intention
∵ intention entails ends
∵ an end is soley a concept of practical reason
conformance, societal and personal: fact and explanation
- agents of reason often work by instinct and intuition, roughly conforming
to the autotelic principle without immediately cognizing or thinking
of its role as guide and ground of their actions
\ Copyright © 2023 Michael Allan.