about

The Policy of Action is a work of theoretical ethics which has been in development since May 2020. [Note 1]

The statement of this book:

IF ALL MAY DO WHAT THEY CAN AND WANT TO, THIS IS JUSTICE

Understanding the difference between right and wrong is a pursuit widely shared by cultures across the world. Peoples have attempted to understand this difference using methods of religion, logic, and personal experience. Western philosophers have documented the results of these methods in systematic writings for thousands of years to evaluate their effects and record the common reasons people reference in making decisions. These writings are referred to as formal 'normative' theories of ethics. and metaethics. The Policy is one such entry into this body of work. It addresses a 'laissez faire' attitude to morality which has become increasingly embraced by secular political and alternative movements as well as feminist movements of the post-war era. This attitude could be summed up as follows:

"don't get in people's way unless you must;"

or simply, "live and let live."

This attitude rejects traditional conceptions of right and wrong by pointing out that these traditional conceptions are unjustly repressive. The Policy develops and provides theoretical rigor to this attitude. It does this by making a sequence of statements defining what justice is not. Each step in this sequence of philosophical findings illuminates precisely what the nature of justice actually is. [Note 2]

It is a breakaway work in the sense that it explicitly rejects the three primary normative doctrines which have been commonly accepted throughout the history of Western philosophy to the present day: virtue ethics, deontology, and consequentialism.

The Policy is unlike virtue ethics in that it does not assert that justice is at all associated with personal character or the natural merit of individuals. The Policy believes there is no tie between who people are and the justice of their acts.

The Policy is unlike deontology in that it requires no specific moral duties or obligations.

And the Policy is unlike consequentialism in that it associates justice with no sense of intrinsic value coming from the outcomes of actions nor does it ever relate just results to specific outcomes. Consequentialism associates justice with intrinsically good outcomes. But the Policy is unconcerned with judging whether certain outcomes are 'good' or 'bad.' Additionally, the Policy is unconcerned with outcomes not immediately relevant to whether actions receive permissions they are worthy of. Consequentialism, on the other hand, is defined by outcomes often not directly related to the permission or prohibition of acts on their own.

The Policy makes explicit references to the ideas of these theories and clearly disassociates itself with those ideas. However, it makes no direct reference to the theories themselves since the text is fundamentally not a critical one. Any references to other normative ideas are only used to clarify what is not being argued for.

Ultimately, the text argues that individual actions are either worthy of permission or unworthy or permission. It states that when permission is granted to actions which are worthy of it, justice is created. It clarifies that while justice is non-physical, it is still an objective, observable feature taking place in the world. In this way, justice is "real" and not simply a mental or emotional experience. It then analyzes these ideas on individual and social levels.

One goal of this text is to make this theory accessible to an audience not typically served in philosophy. Ethical texts are often not written with an eye to the general public. But because the thesis or statement of the book was directly inspired by public movements, it is appropriate to write the Policy for an audience that is motivated about making theoretical ideas concerning social justice as publicly accessible as possible. [3]

This site has been created to share my work as it stands with those who might be interested in the ideas I have. Sharing of the site is permitted.

Zachary Taylor. 12 October 2022.

Page updated. 26 November 2023.

Page updated. 19 January 2025.

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