fulltext - DiVA Portal

situations the special circumstances will be evaluated. If morality isseen as a policy, it seems reasonable to consider alternatives in suchsituations. However, the practical behavior is hardly different ifmorality is seen as a virtue instead of a policy. It might soundstringent to pursue a Kantian defense that it is never right to lie, somen should never lie. But it should be questioned whether this reallyis virtue, and not virtue as a strategy of appearance. Even if a personclaims to be an absolute believer, there are no good reasons tobelieve he is. Just the multitude of attractive norms and honorablevirtues leads necessarily to same relativism. Conflicting categoricalimperatives, weakness of will, evident absurdities all shake the finnbelief. Absolute morality is just an illusion or a lie, but to pledge forit and pursue it to some degree is a policy.Rationai evaluation of all alternatives and their consequences is alsoan unavailable alternative. What is within human reach is to be an actegoist, who gives low consideration to conventions, restrictions andlong-term effects. Such a policy might, as the reciprocal, beevaluated according to what degree it is personallyand sociallysuccessful. One analytieal criterion for such an evaluation is whetherlife should be seen as a string of independent Prisoner's Dilemmas orrather as series of iterated Prisaner's Dilemmas.Moral policy eonsists of practieing same rules without seeing themas weak rules of thumb to be abandoned for slight reason, nor asabsolute rules to be implemented even if there are very strongindications of a golden opportunity or a high eost. Rigidity might bean unfiattering but apt description of moral rules as policy. Mueh canbe said for such moral rigidity, for a reluctance to change one'srulesof conduct; all situations are special in same respects but few arereally exceptional. I do not think this is just an alternative; that iswhat moral rules are. Same claim they are absolutes and others claima permanent pragmatic openness. The real choice is betweendifferent kinds of rigid policy. I see three major alternatives: 1following conventions that are in line with self-interest; alias ruleegoism,constrained maximization or reciprocity. 2 Being less ruleoriented and act according to act-egoism; alias 'straightforwardmaximization' and 'rational' in economics and game theory. 3Promoting and sometimes following moralistic rules claiming disdainrather than regard for one's own self-interest; as altruism, Kantianismand utilitarianisffi.III : 22