PHIL51 Week 9 - Ramsey’s neoclassical model of economic

PHIL 51—Scientific Reasoning

Week 9

• Ramsey’s neoclassical model of economic growth.
  • Be able to explain the basics of the model
  • Be able to explain how it relates to the question of discounting
  • Be able to explain why some have criticized the model for being too simplistic criticisms of the model
• Why some people say the choice of discount rate is about efficiency rather than ethics
• Davidson’s response and argument about why it is indeed a matter of ethics
• The descriptive and prescriptive approaches to setting the discount rate
  • What the two different approaches are
  • Arguments for and against each one
• Welfarist consequentialism. What it is, and the following subvarieties:
  • Utilitarianism. What it is, what it says about discounting, criticisms of this approach
  • Agent-relative ethics. What it is, what it says about discounting, criticisms of this approach
  • Prioritarianism, sufficientarianism, and the difference principle. What they are, what they say about discounting, criticisms of these approaches
• Deontology.What it is, what itsys about discounting, and criticisms of this approach
• The net-zero policy goal.
  • What it is
  • Why some worry that these ambiguities encourage us to procrastinate in important climate action
• The four ambiguities Armstrong and McClaren discuss, and why each one is important
  • Timing.
  • Cumulative emissions.
  • Residual emissions.
  • Distribution of side effects.
• Which versions of net zero Armstrong and McClaren think are the most just, and why
• Which versions of net zero Armstrong and McClaren think are the least just, and why
• The major questions that would still arise even if we met the net-zero target, and what is important about them