Editing David Gauthier

{{Short description|Canadian philosopher (1932–2023}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2017}}
{{Infobox philosopher
| region           = [[Western philosophy]]
| era              = [[Contemporary philosophy]]
| name             = David Gauthier
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|FRSC|size=100%}}
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1932|09|10|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Toronto, Ontario]], Canada<ref name=CV>University of Pittsburgh, [http://www.philosophy.pitt.edu/person/david-gauthier David Gauthier: Biography]</ref>
| death_date       = {{death date and age|2023|11|09|1932|09|10|df=y}}
| death_place      =
| education        = [[University of Toronto]] (B.A. (Hons.), 1954)<br/>[[Harvard University]] (A.M., 1955)<br/>[[University of Oxford]] (B.Phil., 1957; D.Phil., 1961)
| school_tradition = [[Analytic philosophy|Analytic]]<br/>[[Contractarianism]]<br/>[[#Philosophy|Contractarian ethics]]<br/>[[Classical liberalism]]<ref>Andrew Vincent, ''Modern Political Ideologies'', Wiley-Blackwell, 2009, p. 54.</ref>
| main_interests   = [[Political philosophy]], [[game theory]], [[rational choice theory]]
| notable_ideas    = [[#Philosophy|Contractarian ethics]] (morals by agreement), [[#Philosophy|constrained maximization]], Gauthier's [[Lockean proviso]]<ref>{{cite book| chapter-url = https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/contractarianism/| title = Contractarianism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)| chapter = Contractarianism| year = 2021| publisher = Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University}}, §3</ref>
| influences       = [[Thomas Hobbes]]{{·}}[[John Locke]]
| influenced       = [[Peter Vallentyne]], [[Geoffrey Sayre-McCord]], [[Jan Narveson]]
| signature        = 
}}

'''David Gauthier''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|FRSC}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|g|ɔː|t|i|eɪ}}; 10 September 1932 – 9 November 2023) was a Canadian [[philosopher]] best known for his neo-[[Thomas Hobbes|Hobbesian]] or [[Social contract|contractarian]] theory of [[morality]], as developed in his 1986 book ''Morals by Agreement''.

==Life and career==
David Gauthier was born in [[Toronto]] on 10 September 1932. He was educated at the [[University of Toronto]] (B.A. (Hons.), 1954), [[Harvard University]] (A.M., 1955), and the [[University of Oxford]] (B.Phil., 1957; D.Phil., 1961).<ref name=CV/>

Gauthier taught at the [[University of Toronto]] from 1958 until 1980, when he joined the Department of Philosophy at the [[University of Pittsburgh]], where he remained for the rest of his career.

In the [[1962 Canadian federal election]], Gauthier ran as a candidate for the [[New Democratic Party]] in the riding of [[Eglinton (federal electoral district)#Election results|Eglinton]], in Toronto, placing third.

Gauthier also held visiting appointments at [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]], [[University of California, Berkeley|UC Berkeley]], [[Princeton University|Princeton]], [[University of California, Irvine|UC Irvine]], and the [[University of Waterloo]].

In 1979, he was elected a fellow of the [[Royal Society of Canada]] (F.R.S.C.). Asteroid [[15911 Davidgauthier]] (1997 TL21) was named in his honour.

Gauthier died on 9 November 2023, at the age of 91.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Weinberg |first1=Justin |title=David Gauthier (1932–2023) |url=https://dailynous.com/2023/11/13/david-gauthier-1932-2023/ |access-date=14 November 2023 |publisher=Daily Nous |date=13 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=In Memoriam: David Gauthier (1932–2023) |url=https://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2023/11/in-memoriam-david-gauthier-1932-2023.html |website=Leiter Reports |access-date=14 November 2023 |date=12 November 2023}}</ref>

==Philosophy<!--'Constrained maximization', 'Constrained maximisation', and 'Contractarian ethics' redirect here-->==
Gauthier was the author of numerous articles, some of the most important of which are collected in ''Moral Dealing'', as well as several books including ''Practical Reasoning'', ''The Logic of Leviathan'', ''Morals by Agreement'', and ''Rousseau: The Sentiment of Existence''.

In addition to systematic work in moral theory, Gauthier was also interested in the [[history of political philosophy]], especially [[Thomas Hobbes|Hobbes]] and [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau|Rousseau]]. He conducted work on the theory of [[Practical reasoning|practical rationality]], where he began from an attempt to understand economic rationality, rather than from [[Immanuel Kant|Kantian]] or [[Aristotle|Aristotelian]] antecedents.

Gauthier understood [[value theory|value]] as a matter of individuals' [[economic subjectivism|subjective]] preferences, and argued that moral constraints on straightforward utility-maximizing are [[prudence|prudentially]] justified. He argued that it is most prudent to give up straightforward maximizing and instead adopt a disposition of '''constrained maximization'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA-->, according to which one resolves to cooperate with all similarly disposed persons (those disposed towards cooperation) and defect on the rest (straightforward maximizers), since repeated cooperation provides greater yields than repeated mutual defection from contracts (as is seen in a basic [[Prisoner's dilemma]] game). According to Gauthier's '''contractarian ethics'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA-->,<ref>Peter Byrne, ''The Philosophical and Theological Foundations of Ethics'', Springer, 2016, p. 98</ref> moral constraints are justified because they make us all better off, in terms of our preferences (whatever they may be). A consequence is that good moral thinking is just an elevated and subtly [[game theory|strategic]] version of [[Instrumental rationality|means–end reasoning]].

In ''Morals by Agreement'', Gauthier defines translucency. An individual is translucent if their intentions can be guessed or judged by other individuals. Celeste M. Friend argues against the argument of translucency in the evolution of cooperation. First, translucency might not be realistic in human societies. This first argument was first brought by Geoffrey Sayre-McCord.  Second, translucency might be the product of social interactions: one becomes often more translucent as trust is gained, and not the other way round. Finally, excessive translucency would also reveal the underlying self-interest in being translucent, therefore hindering cooperation. <ref>{{Cite journal |last=Friend |first=Celeste M. |date=2001 |title=Trust and the Presumption of Translucency |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23559039 |journal=Social Theory and Practice |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=1–18 |doi=10.5840/soctheorpract200127118 |jstor=23559039 |issn=0037-802X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Bibliography==
* ''Practical Reasoning: The Structure and Foundations of Prudential and Moral Arguments and Their Exemplification in Discourse'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963).
* ''The Logic of Leviathan: The Moral and Political Theory of Thomas Hobbes'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969).
* ''Morals by Agreement'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986)
* ''Moral Dealing: Contract, Ethics, and Reason'' (Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1990).
* ''Rousseau: The Sentiment of Existence'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006).

==See also==
* [[American philosophy]]
* [[Compliance problem]]
* [[Social contract]]
* [[Game theory]]
* [[List of American philosophers]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* E. F. Paul, F. D. Miller Jr., and J. Paul, eds., ''The New Social Contract: Essays on Gauthier'' (Oxford: Blackwell, 1988).
* Peter Vallentyne, ed., ''Contractarianism and Rational Choice: Essays on David Gauthier's Morals by Agreement'' (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991.)
* David Gauthier and Robert Sugden, eds., ''Rationality, Justice and the Social Contract: Themes from Morals by Agreement'' (Hertfordshire: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1993).
* Christopher W. Morris, and Arthur Ripstein, eds., ''Practical Rationality and Preference: Essays for David Gauthier'' (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001)
* John G. Messerly, "Constrained Maximizers in Iterated Contexts," Southwest Philosophy Review, 1994, 107–111.
* John G. Messerly, "The Omission of Unconditional Cooperators: A Critique of Gauthier’s Argument for Constrained Maximization," Philosophical Studies 67, 1992, 19–39.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gauthier, David}}
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:2023 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American philosophers]]
[[Category:21st-century American philosophers]]
[[Category:University of Toronto alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian philosophers]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian philosophers]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Toronto]]
[[Category:University of Pittsburgh faculty]]