ETHICS, EVIL, AND FICTION This page intentionally left blank Ethics, Evil, and Fiction COLIN McGINN CLARENDON PRESS • OXFORD This book has been printed digitally and produced in a standard specification in order to ensure its continuing availability OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. 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Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover And you must impose this same condition on any acquirer ISBN 0-19-823716-2 Cover illustration: Young Woman with a Peal Necklace by Vermeer (1632-75). Gemaldegalerie, Berlin. Photo : AKG London. PREFACE Probably the most pressing question about any area of philo- sophy is: how is it to be done? What is the right method to adopt in discovering something philosophically worthwhile? Here is where philosophical debate is apt to rage most fiercely. Many dif- ferent methodological proposals have had their day: some have taken introspection to be the right method; some have favoured the methods of the physical sciences; some have seen mathemat- ics as the appropriate basis; some have proposed a phenomeno- logical approach, suspending the 'natural standpoint'; some have suggested that the analysis of language is the key; some have urged the merits of cognitive science. Most of the major revolu- tions in philosophy have been methodological, not theoretical— new ways of doing things, not new theories of things. No doubt this state of affairs carries a deep metaphilosophical lesson, which is perhaps not altogether sanguine. In any case, method- ological anxiety is endemic to the subject. Moral philosophy is no exception. Our aim is to shed light on aspects of life that involve moral notions (to put it as untenden- tiously as possible). Part of the problem here is knowing what to count as a moral notion; also what other notions need to be intro- duced in connection with moral notions. But, even once some decision has been made about these questions, there is still the question of what sort of method to adopt—of where, and how, to look for moral illumination. The tendency has been, naturally enough, to borrow whatever methodological assumptions have been made in other areas of philosophy, such as metaphysics and epistemology. This is not necessarily a sound procedure; it may well be that ethics calls for an approach that is distinctive to that subject-matter—that reflects its specific character. What we should certainly avoid is any preconceived method that excludes potentially fruitful avenues of reflection. This book is written in the conviction that that is precisely what has happened with moral philosophy. In particular, the vi Preface potential contributions of literary fiction have been systematical- ly neglected. For fiction fails to conform to any of the method- ological paradigms that have dominated philosophy at large. Yet in fiction we find ethical themes treated with a depth and reso- nance that is unmatched in human culture. Literature is where moral thinking lives and breathes on the page. Philosophers of morality therefore need to pay attention to it. And, if they do, it is likely that the field of moral philosophy will take on a quite dif- ferent complexion and shape. My own route into this perspective came from two separate, though connected, circumstances. The first was my own interest in writing fiction. Having written two novels (one of them pub- lished: The Space Trap, Duckworth, 1992) and several short stories, I became more actively aware of the way in which moral consid- erations enter intimately into the construction of fictional works. The novelist must constantly treat of moral questions, and take some position on them. The second circumstance was that I vol- unteered to teach a course at Rutgers University that was other- wise about to go extinct. Called 'Philosophical Ideas in Literature', this was a course in which the instructor could choose whatever texts he or she liked and discuss them in any way that seemed philosophically relevant. I chose some of my favourite novels and tried to shape the course around that choice, instead of settling on a philosophical theme and then finding books (good or bad) that dealt with that theme in some way. The first novel I taught was Nabokov's Lolita, chosen because of its great distinction as a literary work and the emotional power of its story. The philosophical theme that naturally emerged was good and evil; and that was how the course acquired the shape it did. Teaching this course was a very interesting (and demanding) experience for me, because no recognized method existed by which to pursue the kinds of issues I found in the works chosen. Yet the moral material was as rich and dense as one could wish. Nevertheless, the response of the students encouraged me to think that this was a fruitful way to approach moral questions; and the students in that class produced some of the best work that I have ever seen. Ideally, this way of doing moral philosophy is conducted by a close reading of the literary text, with detailed comments on the characters and scenes that are presented. I like to let the moral Preface vii issues develop naturally in step with the narrative. But this is not really feasible in a book such as this one, so here I have adopted a more selective and lofty approach, though still with a good deal of concrete detail. Much of what I have to say, however, has its origin in the close study of the relevant literary texts, the results emerging from the details of the story. The best way to read what I have written would be first to study the fictional texts them- selves, preferably with someone else, discussing the details of what happens, and then turn to my discussion afterwards. I do not intend my discussions to be anything but adjuncts to the act of actually reading and assessing the works I am interpreting. The earlier parts of the book are more orthodox in form, deal- ing with some standard questions in metaethics. Here I must con- fess that one of my motives in treating these topics is my repug- nance for all kinds of relativism, scepticism, and subjectivism about morality. I have always found such views not only intel- lectually groundless but also morally appalling. My underlying aim is to show that it is possible, and necessary, to detach moral objectivity from any religious world-view—so that we do not need to believe in God in order to find morality both important and binding. The decline of religion is no reason to accept a decline in morality. What is wanted, then, is a philosophy of morality that shows it to be an area of truth and knowledge in good standing, despite the absence of the divine authority that has traditionally been supposed to give it substance. That is what I set out to do in the second and third chapters. The book is rather mixed both in topic and level of difficulty. Since I want it to be read by the general reader and not just by professional philosophers, I have written the more abstract chap- ters with the minimum of scholarly apparatus, hoping that my professional colleagues will allow me a pinch of salt and add the curlicues necessary to achieve full analytical rigour. Still, I cannot pretend that these early chapters will be easy reading for anyone but the philosophically trained, at least in places. My advice for non-philosophical readers is to read over these chapters without trying to understand every detail of what is said: the general drift should come through, and the finer points are not essential to grasping the basic arguments. The level of difficulty lets up con- siderably in Chapter 4, at which point there will no longer be any reason to crease your forehead in exasperated perplexity. viii Preface I take the themes of this book very seriously and would like the reader to share my concerns. This has not prevented me, however, from adopting a lighter touch at various points, and I hope the reader will not think me flippant or irreverent. One of the great devices of serious fiction is humour, along with its play- mates archness and irony; I have not suppressed these tendencies where they seemed appropriate. I am grateful to quite a number of people for their comments and encouragement. Malcolm Budd and Thomas Nagel kindly read an early draft and made helpful comments. The students in my classes were a source of stimulation and amusement. Conversations with the following people were also appreciated: Noam Chomsky, Robert van Gulick, Anne Hollander, Elizabeth Hollander, Mark Johnston, Peter Kivy, Kathleen Mancini, Robert Matthews, Aaron Meskin, Jonathan Miller, Eileen O'Neil, Jed Perl, Consuelo Preti, Galen Strawson (I hope I haven't forgotten anybody). In connection with the material on evil, a couple of people (who will remain nameless) stimulated my thinking by way of example; it cannot be said that I am grateful to them for this. My motto in this book is: when it comes to morality, there is more truth in fictional truth than is dreamt of by philosophers. New York Colin McGinn May 1996 CONTENTS 1 Introduction: The Scope of Moral Philosophy i 2 Goodness 7 1. Moral Psychologism 7 2. The Naturalistic Fallacy? 10 3. Relativism 20 4. Logical Priority and the Biconditionals 23 5. A Tempting Error 24 6. Moral Intentionality 25 7. Psychologism and Moral Enquiry 29 8. The Essence of Goodness 31 9. 'Good' and 'Ought' 32 3 Knowledge of Goodness 35 1. Ethical Knowledge and Scientific Knowledge 35 2. The Explanation of Belief 36 3. Science and Induction 38 4. Ethics and Mathematics 40 5. The Nature of Ethical Knowledge 44 6. Truth and Coercion 50 7. Morality and Folk Psychology 55 8. Epistemological Queerness 57 4 The Evil Character 61 1. Two Types of Moral Psychology 61 2. Clarifying the Analysis 65 3. Some Applications 69 4. The Explanation of Evil 71 5. The Attraction of Pain 74 6. Primitive Evil 81 7. The Rationality of Evil 85 8. The Origins and Prevention of Evil 87