Campbell's Paradox and the Possibility Clause: The Guards of Infrastructuralism

This paper introduces two foundational safeguards, Campbell’s Paradox and The Possibility Clause, that defend and extend the normative ethical theory of Infrastructuralism. Campbell’s Paradox (“To morally disagree is to affirm that the conditions for moral judgment matter”) functions as a self-validating statement akin to Descartes’ Cogito, ergo sum (“I think, therefore I am”), demonstrating that moral disagreement itself presupposes the infrastructure required for moral reasoning. The Possibility Clause (“Survival is not good because it ensures good outcomes, it is good because it creates the very possibility of both good and bad”) grounds the intrinsic moral value of survival by showing that the possibility of good is more valuable than its impossibility, independent of outcome tallies. Together, these principles not only secure Infrastructuralism against collapse and misinterpretation, but also stand as independent philosophical contributions with potential application beyond the theory itself.

Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2025-08-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16787460
Primary Topic
Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Campbell's Paradox and the Possibility Clause: The Guards of Infrastructuralism

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies
article

Campbell's Paradox and the Possibility Clause: The Guards of Infrastructuralism

article en

Abstract

This paper introduces two foundational safeguards, Campbell’s Paradox and The Possibility Clause, that defend and extend the normative ethical theory of Infrastructuralism. Campbell’s Paradox (“To morally disagree is to affirm that the conditions for moral judgment matter”) functions as a self-validating statement akin to Descartes’ Cogito, ergo sum (“I think, therefore I am”), demonstrating that moral disagreement itself presupposes the infrastructure required for moral reasoning. The Possibility Clause (“Survival is not good because it ensures good outcomes, it is good because it creates the very possibility of both good and bad”) grounds the intrinsic moral value of survival by showing that the possibility of good is more valuable than its impossibility, independent of outcome tallies. Together, these principles not only secure Infrastructuralism against collapse and misinterpretation, but also stand as independent philosophical contributions with potential application beyond the theory itself.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Openalex Percentile: Top 59%
Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies
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Campbell's Paradox and the Possibility Clause: The Guards of Infrastructuralism · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS