The Bedrock of Fairness
Followup to: The Moral Void
Three people, whom we'll call Xannon, Yancy and Zaire, are separately wandering through the forest; by chance, they happen upon a clearing, meeting each other. Introductions are performed. And then they discover, in the center of the clearing, a delicious blueberry pie.
Xannon: "A pie! What good fortune! But which of us should get it?"
Yancy: "Let us divide it fairly."
Zaire: "I agree; let the pie be distributed fairly. Who could argue against fairness?"
Xannon: "So we are agreed, then. But what is a fair division?"
Yancy: "Eh? Three equal parts, of course!"
Zaire: "Nonsense! A fair distribution is half for me, and a quarter apiece for the two of you."
Yancy: "What? How is that fair?"
Zaire: "I'm hungry, therefore I should be fed; that is fair."
Xannon: "Oh, dear. It seems we have a dispute as to what is fair. For myself, I want to divide the pie the same way as Yancy. But let us resolve this dispute over the meaning of fairness, fairly: that is, giving equal weight to each of our desires. Zaire desires the pie to be divided {1/4, 1/4, 1/2}, and Yancy and I desire the pie to be divided {1/3, 1/3, 1/3}. So the fair compromise is {11/36, 11/36, 14/36}."



