Is Efficiency a Vice?

Setiya, Kieran

doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190462925.003.0008

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 13 publications

(5 reference statements)

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“…10. For this reason, Setiya (2005) argues that general efficiency, the disposition to act to achieve efficiently ends, whatever these ends are, is a defect of character. 11.…”

Section: Conclusion: How To Teach Frugalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating frugal citizens: The liberal egalitarian case for teaching frugality

Zwarthoed

2015

Theory and Research in Education

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According to Agenda 21, the United Nation's action plan for sustainable development, 'Governments and private sector organisations should promote more positive attitudes towards sustainable consumption through education, public awareness programmes and other means'. But some could wonder whether the cultivation of frugal consumption habits in schools is compatible with basic liberal principles. This article argues that, in societies like ours, liberal egalitarian theories of justice should permit and even advocate teaching frugality in educational institutions. Liberal egalitarianism expects educational institutions to equip children with the abilities and virtues needed to live well by their own judgment and in compliance with just institutions. The article examines how frugality could be one of these virtues. First, frugality is conducive to better compliance with our distributive obligations towards the current poor and future generations. Second, frugality enables prospective adults to live well with their fair share of scarce resources, and even with less. Third, frugality increases autonomy and facilitates its exercise. The article thus concludes that liberal egalitarian institutions should encourage schools to teach frugality.

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“…10. For this reason, Setiya (2005) argues that general efficiency, the disposition to act to achieve efficiently ends, whatever these ends are, is a defect of character. 11.…”

Section: Conclusion: How To Teach Frugalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating frugal citizens: The liberal egalitarian case for teaching frugality

Zwarthoed

2015

Theory and Research in Education

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“…But, we may reasonably wonder, why should we not value grit in every instance? Well, for one, we may draw from Keiran Setiya's () work on efficiency and worry that students who are gritty and persevere in pursuing their goals in the face of adversity may be admirable if their goals are admirable, but if the gritty student persists in the face of adversity regardless of the ethical merits of the goal they're pursuing, grit seems more vice than virtue. Morton () considers and responds to several other worries concerning grit which I won't recapitulate here, but I will add to them the point that recent psychological research suggests new ways in which persistence may be a vice.…”

Section: Why Put Measurement First?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…See, for instance, Setiya, , on the ‘virtue’ of efficiency, though the recognition of the context‐dependence of the goodness of certain virtues goes back at least as far as Kant.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Putting Measurement First: Understanding ‘Grit’ in Educational Policy and Practice

Peterson¹

2015

Journal of Philosophy of Education

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Non‐cognitive dispositions have recently become psychological constructs of interest in the education, economics, philosophy, sociology, and psychology literature. In this article, I draw the distinction between property‐first and measurement‐first approaches to understanding the meaning of a particular non‐cognitive disposition theoretical term, ‘grit’, as well as the relationship between this term and its corresponding measurement procedure. I argue that, depending on which approach one takes, one is confronted with different norms for judging the success of any disposition‐measurement procedure pair, meaning that the difference in philosophical approaches may have practical import. I argue that the measurement‐first approach is the one educators and educational policy‐makers ought to adopt towards grit as it is less likely to lead to over‐valuing grit in situations where a gritty disposition may be harmful, better respects scientific virtues and values, and provides a clearer understanding of grit than the property‐first approach.

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“…5 Notably Kolodny (2005Kolodny ( , 2007aKolodny ( , 2007bKolodny ( , 2008aKolodny ( , 2008b and Raz (2003Raz ( , 2005aRaz ( , 2005b. 6 For some of these objections, see Setiya (2005Setiya ( , 2007, Bedke (2009), etc. For a revised narrow-scope account, see Shroeder (2009,2011); and for a revised wide-scope account, see Way (2010Way ( , 2011.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%