Consequentialism
Morality: about how things ought to be rather than how they are (about
norms rather than empirical facts)
A moral theory tries to discover basic moral norms: those which determine
what actions are right/ what action are wrong.
Consequentialism
is a label for a family of such theories.
What all the theories have in common: right/wrong derives exclusively from
consequences of action.
Version 1:
Act Utilitarianism
(AU):
i.
A is right (morally permissible) iff its consequences are at least as
good or better than any feasible alternative. (Maximizing Act
Consequentialism)
ii.
A is as good as B iff A creates as much total well being in the
world as B. (Utilitarian Value)
Short version: A is right if it would create as much well being as possible in
the circumstances.
There a different versions of AU based on different theories of well being.
(There are both subjective and objective versions.)
Evaluation of ii
(Utilitarian value)
Attractions: a. Well-being is whatever contributes to a life being good, so it
is an inclusive criterion. (Contrast well-being with pleasure.) b. Impartial:
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- Fall '11
- GaryFulle
-
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