Date of Award

Spring 2012

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Philosophy (MA)

Department

Philosophy

Supervisor

Violetta Igneski

Co-Supervisor

Stefan Sciaraffa

Language

English

Committee Member

Nancy Doubleday

Abstract

Suffering is often awarded a prominent place in many conceptions of ethics as a consideration worthy of moral concern. This is done however, without a thorough understanding of what suffering is, or why suffering is morally significant, as full accounts of the nature and moral significance of suffering are few and far between. Our attention in this project is on elucidating what suffering is, and why it is morally significant, as well as understanding suffering’s complex relationship to well-being. Additionally, we also utilize what has been established about suffering to begin to understand and outline what the ramifications of treating suffering as a separate consideration might be for morality.


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