Partition Thesis
Criteria of moral standing determine who is considerable but do not, by themselves, generate priority among those admitted.
Theory
The partition thesis distinguishes two questions frequently conflated in normative theory: the question of who or what enters the moral field, and the question of how that field is ordered once entry is settled.
Standing is a threshold notion; ordering is a relational one. Confusing them produces both overreach — treating admission as if it entailed priority — and neglect — treating ordering disputes as if they were disputes about standing.
The thesis is developed with ontocentric information ethics as its maximal test case: even the most inclusive standing criterion cannot supply an internal principle of priority.
Key publications
- Standing Is Not an Ordering (under review).
- The Ontological Organization of Normativity (in preparation).
A continually updated record is available through the publications page.
Current work
- Extension of the thesis to debates on AI moral status.
- Application to environmental and infrastructural ethics.