Ep. 4: Supererogation - The Spiritual Bank Account

In traditional moral philosophy there are three kinds of actions: Good actions you’re required to do, bad actions you’re not allowed to do, and permittable actions that are neither good nor bad. The philosopher J.O. Urmson introduced a fourth category: Good actions that you’re not required to do. These include things like giving to charity or helping a stranger in distress, and in technical philosophical jargon they are known as supererogatory acts. In this episode we dig into the concept of supererogation and try to figure out if it’s a real thing or just a red herring. We also get the story-behind-the-story of the “good samaritan” and learn all about the church’s secret bank of moral goodness. There’s some good stuff in here for fans of Back to the Future II, and you’ll also learn which member of the cast owns a brand new speedboat.  

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