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The Axiomatic Approach to Population Ethics

University of Warwick, UK, c.blackorby{at}warwick.ac.uk

Walter Bossert

University of Montreal, Canada, walter.bossert{at}umontreal.ca

David Donaldson

University of British Columbia, Canada, dvdd{at}telus.net

This article examines several families of population principles in the light of a set of axioms. In addition to the critical-level utilitarian, number-sensitive critical-level utilitarian, and number-dampened utilitarian families and their generalized counterparts, we consider the restricted number-dampened family and introduce two new ones: the restricted critical-level and restricted number-dependent critical-level families. Subsets of the restricted families have non-negative critical levels, avoid the `repugnant conclusion' and satisfy the axiom priority for lives worth living, but violate an important independence condition.

Key Words: population ethics • axiomatic methodology

Politics, Philosophy & Economics, Vol. 2, No. 3, 342-381 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/1470594X030023004


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