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Consequentialist Ethical Theories

Consequentialist Ethical Theories. Egoism : the good is whatever promotes my long-term interests Hedonism : the good is pleasure

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Consequentialist Ethical Theories

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  1. Consequentialist Ethical Theories • Egoism: the good is whatever promotes my long-term interests • Hedonism: the good is pleasure • Pursue pleasures not mixed with pain (beauty, prudence, honor, justice, courage, knowledge); satisfy natural desires (food, sleep), avoid vain desires (fame, fashion) • Self-realization: develop harmoniously all our capacities (Plato, Aristotle, Bradley) Epicurus 341-270 BCE

  2. Objections to Egoism • Egoism cannot resolve conflicts of interest (which moral theories should do) • Egoism allows for no “moral point of view” of an ideal, impartial, informed observer who identifies with those in the situation • Reply: no one is completely impartial, nor should moral decisions be dispassionate

  3. Utilitarianism: we ought to promote the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number • Bentham: the hedonic calculus is based on the intensity, duration, certainty, immediacy, fecundity, purity, & number of people affected • J. S. Mill: the quality of pleasures needs to be considered, determined by competent judges • Objections: this is elitist; why not use the criterion for evaluating pleasures to judge morality itself? J. Bentham (1748-1843) J. S. Mill (1808-73)

  4. Variations of Utilitarianism • Act utilitarianism: we are obligated to do the specific act that produces the greatest amount of happiness (regardless of rules or justice) Objections: • consequence calculation is difficult • this implies that the end justifies the means • Rule utilitarianism: we should follow moral rules that, when acted upon, generally produce the greatest amount of happiness Objections: • what about when rules conflict? • in some cases, why not exceptions? Reply: then why have any theory at all?

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