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Formal ethics looks at willing as accepting an imperative -- because
{ 1 } - this is a natural way of speaking.
{ 2 } - this is the only way to derive principles like the golden rule.
{ 3 } - this analysis makes it easier to develop formal ethics as a unified system with a few basic axioms -- rather than as a mixed assortment of various principles.
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Formal ethics looks at willing as accepting an imperative -- because
{ 1 } - this is a natural way of speaking.
{ 2 } - this is the only way to derive principles like the golden rule.
{ 3 } - this analysis makes it easier to develop formal ethics as a unified system with a few basic axioms -- rather than as a mixed assortment of various principles.
It sometimes isn't so natural. To make the strategy work, we need imperatives for each person and tense. English imperatives are mostly limited to second person present and future ("Do this now" and "Do this tomorrow" -- with "you" understood). We also need forms for the first and third person, and for the past. So we have to stretch language a bit to make the strategy work.
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Formal ethics looks at willing as accepting an imperative -- because
{ 1 } - this is a natural way of speaking.
{ 2 } - this is the only way to derive principles like the golden rule.
{ 3 } - this analysis makes it easier to develop formal ethics as a unified system with a few basic axioms -- rather than as a mixed assortment of various principles.
We could derive the golden rule in other ways. Chapter 5, in fact, gives a derivation of the golden rule that doesn't use the idea of willing as accepting an imperative.
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3 is correct!
Formal ethics looks at willing as accepting an imperative -- because
{ 1 } - this is a natural way of speaking.
{ 2 } - this is the only way to derive principles like the golden rule.
{ 3 } - this analysis makes it easier to develop formal ethics as a unified system with a few basic axioms -- rather than as a mixed assortment of various principles.
So the analysis, even though sometimes a bit artificial, has a practical justification in terms of making the theory simpler and more coherent.
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