The Ethics-First View Defended: Responses to Audi, Aijaz, Akhlaghi, and Buchak

Abstract

This paper offers four detailed responses to four commentators on my book. First, in response to Robert Audi, I clarify my position on the Abraham’s sacrifice case, defending both the objective and subjective impermissibility of the sacrifice, grounded in the “Moses principle” and the “Accessibility Constraint.” Second, in reply to Imran Aijaz, I address concerns that my “Legal Interpretation” solution could be appropriated by Islamic fundamentalists, clarifying my metaphor of Hayy’s island as a condition of reasoned moral reflection rather than a narrative of historical inevitability. Third, in response to Farbod Akhlaghi, I engage with challenges to Legal Interpretation, defending it against charges of question-begging, examining whether legislation can justifiably require grave moral wrongs, and elaborating the unique epistemic role of revelation in providing underdetermination-solving and relationship-based reasons. Finally, in response to Lara Buchak, I explore her game-theoretic model of moral development as an enhancement of Legal Interpretation and propose a variation that addresses gender dynamics in 7th-century Arabia.