Week 10 (12) FINAL

Question 1

Olivier lists three things that makes surfing unlike other sports. Identify and describe any two of them

Answer 1

1. There’s a competition to participate: you neeed to compete to get the waves in order to actually surf - in a surfing competition, if you don’t catch a wave, then you can’t compete, so you need to compete in order to compete
2. the rules/conventions that govern surfing (like how they should treat other surfers) are largely tacit and never enforiced by an official: no universeally approved rule book (like for ettiquette). This is unlike skiing where if you break a rule you’re kicked off the mountain
3. no clear division between playing field and the real world: in other sports, cheating or violence is confined to the context of the game, but not surfing. Although people do things in surfing that they wouldn’t normally do in the real world, disputes in the conflicts of surfing often spill over into the real world

Question 2

What is localism in surfing?

Answer 2

a system of informal regulations that privilege local surfers and use intimidation, vandalism, or violence to enforce those regulations

Question 3

How do locals sometimes try to justify the conventions of regulation and enforcement of localism?

Answer 3

1. safety: non locals do things that are unsafe, and they only way to keep everyone safe is to intimidate the non locals
2. skewed notion of Lockean property rights: you make previously unowned properties your own by mixing it with your own labour. Local surfers first put their time and energy into the waves, so they think they ‘own’ it
3. Thrasymachus’ notion of justice: ‘might makes right’- what is fair and just is whatever the most powerful person can take and keep. By this standard, locals do own the waves because they can use intimidation and violence to keep non-locals away
4. Utilitarian justification: if non-locals who are bad at surfing get the waves, thenthen they will miss them, or catch them and ride them poorly, which means fewer waves overall, are ridden properly, which means less happiness overall. But happiness is good, and therefore non-local noobs are bad, and so non-local noobs must be stopped

Question 4

What are two merits of a rule-based system of surf-etiquette regulation and enforcement? What are two flaws?

Answer 4

Merits:
1. it prevents arbitrariness and capriciousnes - It could promote consistency in behavior, rather than the current “caprice or arbitrariness” in how surfers act. This could help establish clearer expectations.
2. it gives calrity and simplicity in a confusing world - regulate the world of surfing more
3. it gives an impratial way to settle disputes and assign blame -

Flaws:
1. the ettiquette in surfing is subtle and sensitive to unique details of any situation - so the rules are going to be so general that they’re useless or so specific that it will be impossible to write all of them down
2. people often surf to escape the rules - introducing rules will taint the value of surfing
3. codes lead to mechanical unthinking responses - following rules isn’t ethical if you don’t know why you’re following them

Question 5

What is virtue ethics, and how is it different from more traditional ‘rule-based’ methods of morality?

Answer 5

Virtue ethics = concerned with character, not rules. To do the right thing, don’t look at rules of morality, instead become a good person - a virtuous person, then you will do the right thing. Virtue ethics rejects simple code or rules for determining the right course of action. Moral behaviour is a practical skill that gets developed through practice while developing a strong character

Question 6

What’s (allegedly) bad about virtue ethics in surfing? How might the defender of virtue ethics respond to those charges.

Answer 6

1. Surfing is a bad place for virtue ethics because situational stressors that are unique to surfing make virtuous action difficult (like how frustrating it is to wait for waves)
   R: this makes no sense- part of being a good character is doing things that are difficult. Anyone can be nice when things are easy, but it takes a virtuous person to be nie in difficult times
2. sports are good because they are the chance to suspend the rules of morality, therefore we should reject surf etiquette entirely
   R: the competitive aspect of surfing is not attatched to leisure surfing. It’s something people have to deal with in order to do leisure surfing. Not having all that drama will not be a loss, because decent people don’t just surf becasue they like to be an asshole, they do it because they like surfing

Question 7

What’s good about virtue ethics in surfing?

Answer 7

1. by creating virtuous surfers, we allow the virtuous surfer to figure out the right thing to do while they’re out on the waves. Allows them to assess the situation and determine what to do in a way the rules never can
2. virtue leads to more virtue. replicated and recipocated - exponential goodness
3. utilitarian bonus: sharing waves with non locals will not decrease happiness. Non-local noobs often get more pleasure from rigind a wave improperly or even wipe out than a local surfer would if they did ride it properly . Even if only expert surfers are happy surfers, then they can only be an expert through learning and failing

Question 8

Identify and describe any three of the common arguments against trophy hunting and Gunn’s responses.

Answer 8

1. hunting wrongly deprives animals of something valuable: their lives
   R: nature’s gonna do it anyways
2. hunting causes suffering
   R: nature causes suffering and hunting often prevents suffering
   R: people don’t actually care about animals suffering (ex. rats)
   R: animal farms cause more suffering than hunting and we’re ok with that
3. hunting often kills valuable animals
   R: those animals aren’t actually that special
   R: even if these animals are special, that doesn’t mean they deserve special rights that other animals don’t get
4. hunting is unworthy of civilized beings
   R: maybe hinting is done by mostly uncivilized people, but that doesn’t mean the act itself is wrong
5. hunting is a threat to biodiversity
   R: most trophy species are not endangered and permits for hunting are sure to maintain healthy numbers
   R: often the sick and weak are the ones being hinted and killed (they’re easier targets)
   R: habitat disruption actually effects animals yet there is no uproar about that
6. it’s not necessary for the fulfillment of important human intrest
   R: yes it is: it supports poor people in a way nothing else can (economic considerations: creates revenue for animal conservationists and recusers, revenue for poor country, tourism)