Edward Lamb (Oxford): Benefiting Those Who Would Benefit More
It is tempting to think that when we cannot benefit everyone, it would be more beneficent to benefit those who would benefit more. I argue that this is a mistake, since it wrongly supposes that people are like benefit factories; like converters of resources to benefits. I then defend this position by suggesting that each person has a claim to be benefited which does not depend on how much we could benefit her. Whilst this contradicts views on which well-being is intrinsically good, it fits with a Kantian view on which there is reason to treat each person beneficently because she is a person.
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