1954 – 1995
Robert Pargetter was an Australian philosopher known for his influential collaborations with Frank Jackson on ethical theory and with David Armstrong on metaphysics. His work on objective consequentialism, particularly the Jackson-Pargetter account of moral obligation under uncertainty, remains a key reference point in normative ethics.
Developed (with Frank Jackson) an influential objective consequentialist account of moral rightness under uncertainty
Contributed to the theory of laws of nature and dispositions with David Armstrong and Frank Jackson
Advanced analysis of the relationship between subjective and objective moral 'oughts'
Published significant work on probability, decision theory, and their intersection with ethics
Jackson and Pargetter's view simultaneously generates an obligation to stay home at t1
claimJackson and Pargetter's view does not assess an act's deontic status in the procedural manner that Goldman's (G*1) or Sobel's (S) assesses deontic status
claimAt t1, Jones is obligated (from the t1–t3 act-set) to go to the office, then go to the faculty meeting, and then vote for the language requirement
Jackson and Pargetter's view simultaneously generates an obligation to stay home at t1
claimDoug is not obligated at 2 pm to eat a healthy meal at 6 pm
premiseJackson and Pargetter's view generates an obligation to perform the t1–t3 act-set that includes voting for the language requirement
premiseStaying home at t1 and going to the office at t1 (as required by the t1–t3 act-set) cannot both be performed
claimAt t1, Jones is obligated (from the set of immediately performable acts) to stay home
claimJackson and Pargetter's contextualist actualism implies the possibility of obligations that cannot be jointly fulfilled
Jackson and Pargetter's view does not assess an act's deontic status in the procedural manner that Goldman's (G*1) or Sobel's (S) assesses deontic status
claimAt t1, Jones is obligated (from the t1–t3 act-set) to go to the office, then go to the faculty meeting, and then vote for the language requirement
premiseAn agent is obligated to perform whichever immediately performable act produces the best outcome
premiseWhat would happen if Jones were to stay home is better than what would happen if Jones were to go to the office
premiseJackson and Pargetter's view, like view (G), determines deontic status by comparing outcomes of option sets rather than through a procedural assessment
premiseAn agent is obligated to perform the act-set whose occurrence produces the best outcome compared to alternative act-sets from the same option set
premiseFrom the set of immediately performable acts available to Jones at t1, staying home has the highest value
premiseFrom the set of all t1–t3 act-sets available to Jones at t1, the option with the highest value includes Jones's voting for the language requirement at t3