Unit 3: Essay

Task

Set out Crisp’s arguments concerning autonomous desire and rational choice which purport to show that repetitive advertising and puffery* are both kinds of advertising which subvert autonomy. Identify any important differences between the cases and explain how they affect his conclusions.

* Don’t get confused: Crisp uses this term in an extremely non-standard way.

Unit 3: Essay Answer

In his paper, Roger Crisp explores how common forms of persuasive advertising are all morally wrong in that they are made in a way that undermines the autonomy of its consumers. This is because he believes that the way advertising works overrides what it is we desire. One of the examples mentioned in the related videos talks about how a restaurant would use sexual imagery in their commercial to appeal to a person’s subconscious desire for sex despite it having nothing to do with the restaurant itself.