The remaining arguments for consequentialism given here, like the argument from love, do not speak merely of good consequences overall. Rather they defend consequentialism by defending the importance of some particular kind of consequence, such as happiness, the satisfaction of desire, or the well-being of people. But if everyone hauled their garbage a few miles to the dump instead, in a year or two everyone would have a nice river, which is much more valuable to each person than the minor convenience of not having to haul ones garbage to the dump. For instance, obeying highway speed limits might cause some individuals to miss their destination on time. Any one of these collections provides an excellent introduction to consequentialism. Do Not Lie. Why would she have that additional desire? China, Expectable Consequentialism and Reasonable Consequentialism, Two Simple Arguments for Consequentialism, It is Wrong to Choose the Worse Over the Better, The whole of an actions consequences has no further consequences. Suppose that by killing X, an entirely innocent person, we can save the lives of 10 other innocent people, A consequentialist would say that killing X is justified because it would result in only 1 person dying, rather than 10 people dying, It seems sensible to base ethics on producing happiness and reducing unhappiness, It seems sensible to base ethics on the consequences of what we do, since we usually take decisions about what to do by considering what results will be produced. For example, people often procrastinate from laziness or fear, knowing that they are hurting themselves in the long run. The picture is roughly as follows. These variations are themselves derived in the same way as the general rules. Consequentialism is sometimes criticized because it can be difficult, or even impossible, to know what the result of an action will be ahead of time. It has a moral sense and an objective sense. One might propose, for example, that an action is good insofar as it decreases the amount of meddling in the world. If there is truth in the saying that we should love all people, perhaps it is simply that we should actively do what is good for people and not bad for them, as much as possible. Her expectation that it will produce or promote that good outcome is her reason for performing the action. Such a situation has been seen in cases where governments have implemented policies with negative consequences for some people to benefit society. It is relevant right across the piece. While consequentialism has been applied to many contexts, from animal testing to war, it has also faced criticism for its lack of consideration of individual rights, reliance on prediction and calculation, and failure to consider values such as justice or fairness. (From 2), X is desirable means If X occurs, X will help satisfy desire. (Premise), What is ultimately desirable for each person is her own happinessand whatever promotes that. See Mill (1859). In economics, utility is the pleasure or satisfaction that people derive from consuming a product or service. An action can show what kind of person I am even if it does not make me be that kind of person. See Frey (1984). Consequentialism can be broken down into two core beliefs: Today, consequentialism has many different forms from utilitarianism to rule consequentialism and has been applied in various contexts, from business decisions to criminal justice. Another reason is that when there is more equality in the main external goods, the basic conditions of peoples lives will be more similar and people will find it easier to understand and sympathize with each other. In other words, it means that the result or outcome of taking a certain course of action will determine whether or not it was morally sound. It may be a benefit to herself or to someone else. Consequentialism, as the name suggests, refers to a family of ethical theories which judge the morality of a given action based on its consequences. I do not donate. Or suppose you are unhappy instead: on average just as unhappy as I am happy and for the same amount of time. See Foot (1985); Scanlon (1998). A particular action is morally good only if it produces more overall good than any alternative action. The rules that should be adopted are the rules that would produce the best results if they were adopted by most people. First, abstractly, to be moral is to do ones rational best to do what is objectively right. Yet prominent commentators suggest or imply that Sen's CA is not "consequentialist". New York: Routledge. Dual Consequentialism can say both of those things. Another criticism of consequentialism is its reliance on calculation and prediction. Communication. So you may prefer a different version of consequentialism. Finally, some argue that consequentialism fails to consider certain values, such as justice or fairness when determining the morality of an action (Stubbs, 1981). Goodness and Utilitarianism., Williams, Bernard. If most people who live along a short river toss their garbage in the river, so that it is always full of garbage, then your tossing your own garbage in the river makes no difference to the river, and it saves the inconvenience of driving a few miles to the dump. A different kind of reply to the objection is to propose a new standard for the goodness of consequences. So, they agree that consequentialism is true. Expectable Consequentialism: The morally right action is the action whose reasonably expectable consequences are best. At such times we might overlook the fact that the aspects of morality that we agree on as obvious cover so much territory that they sketch the basic shape of civilized life. William Haines "You are not acting your age." "That was unprofessional behavior.". So far as he can reasonably guess, that scheme would have the best overall consequences. It is often used as a moral tool for decision-making and emphasizes the importance of consequences to determine the morality of an action (Driver, 2014). Further, institutions that secure basic external equalities, or that aim to protect whoever is poorest and weakest, tend to give everyone more security. or a consequentialist approach on which they should cognize in the most value-promoting ways (Thorstad, forthcoming c). That is called 'rule consequentialism'. In Section 3 we shall discuss reasons to think consequentialism is false and some worries about those reasons. Hence another kind of theory has been suggested, which might or might not be regarded as a version of consequentialism. If you get involved in meddling, can you trust yourself to meddle in the right direction and with adequate care? Obligation dilemmas are situations where we feel we are obliged to opt for more than one choice. Get custom essays. If we try to produce the greatest total benefit, then we are loving all people in the sense that we are being impartial, caring for people in general, promoting each persons well-being insofar as that is at stake in our actions and insofar as our helping one does not hurt others more. For example, in the first chapter the only real action as when she got picked up on the bus. It's hard to measure and compare the 'goodness' of those consequences. Hooker, B. (From 4 and 5), What objectively ought to happen, what is objectively desirable, is whatever would be wished for by a spectator with full knowledge and no bias; that is, someone who knows everything and is equally sympathetic with everyone. More importantly, in the long run no result remains, or at least no earthly result. For example, welfare consequentialism, or welfarism, maintains that all that matters or is good is welfare, or well-being. Reasonable Consequentialism says that for an action of mine to be right, I must actually come to a reasonable conclusion beforehand about the consequences. Consequentialism does not itself say what kinds of consequences are good. Consequentialism is a theory of normative ethics that states that the moral value of an action or decision should be judged based on its consequences. However, they are still important considerations when making moral decisions. "Many people can incorporate altruism into their everyday life with small acts of kindness," says Myszak. That does not mean consequentialism tells you to leave me entirely alone. Oxford: Oxford University Press. But we need nice honest friends if we are to be effective doers of good in the long run. When someone asks you a question, you should not stop to calculate the consequences before deciding whether to answer truthfully. In practice people don't assess the ethical consequences of every single act (that's called 'act consequentialism') because they don't have the time. But if quantity of life were the only kind of good result, then a long happy life would be no better than a long unhappy life. Consequentialism and its critics. The utilitarian theory focuses on an action that produces the greatest good which benefits the majority of individuals. Concepts Unwrapped View All 36 short illustrated videos explain behavioral ethics concepts and basic ethics principles. One worry about the above argument is that its initial premise may be false. A similar argument might be made regarding almost any scheme that would horrify nice honest people. See Singer (1972); Jackson (1991); Kidder (2003). Williams, Bernard. Giving him the next available organ means Mr X, who was top of the list, will die - but it also means that thousands of people will be very happy with their new hips. Viktoriya Sus (MA) and Peer Reviewed by Chris Drew (PhD), Machiavellianism: 10 Examples and Definition, Latent Inhibition: 10 Examples and Definition, Belief Perseverance: 10 Examples and Definition (Psychology), Transhumanism: 10 Examples and Definition. (i) The objectively right action is the action with the best consequences, and (ii) the morally right action is any action one reasonably estimates to be objectively right. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Consequentialism. https://doi.org/10.1080/0731129x.2017.1345221, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/egoism/. The Schizophrenia of Modern Ethical Theories., Taurek, John. following which will have the best consequences are the same as the non-consequentialist rules most of us apply in everyday life and in judging the hypothetical cases. Jack had no idea how to identify gold. Note that if what matters is the total amount, then it does not matter whether the happiness belongs to you or your friend or a strangeror even a dog, if dogs can have happiness. An action that brings about more benefit than harm is good, while an action that causes more harm than benefit is not. Hence consequentialism is opposed to common sense and is probably wrong. It differs from utilitarianism in focusing more on individual pleasure than collective good (Scheffler, 2009). (2022). Here is a brief overview of the main forms of consequentialism: Utilitarianism is a type of consequentialism that states that an action should be judged based on its ability to maximize happiness for most people. Hence consequentialism conflicts with common sense. Having life is something that provides value to people. Eight short videos present the 7 principles of values-driven leadership from Gentile's Giving Voice to Values. Today, consequentialism has many different forms developed over the years. See Rawls (1955). When directed toward making social, economic, or. (i) The objectively right action is the action with the best consequences, and (ii) the morally right action is any action with the best reasonably expected consequences. Suppose I donate $100 to Malaria Aid, but it turns out this group aids malaria and I have funded an outbreak. The more happiness there is, the better. See Bales (1971), Railton (1994). And it is commonly thought that the main kinds of actions that can be morally right or wrong are intentional actionsthings we do deliberately, not things like hiccups or small twitches. Learn more about our academic and editorial standards. Hedonism is a type of consequentialism that states that the pursuit of pleasure should be the highest moral priority. Good actions are the ones that produce the least harm. Also, when you are about to follow through on a project you have started, you should not stop to calculate the overall consequences anew before you proceed. examples of moral decisions in everyday life. (From 5 and 6), 8. In one sense if can be argued that the practice of theory of consequentialism has practical value and application in criminal justice. But Expectable Consequentialism has a strange implication. Actions are transient things, soon gone forever. 3. Negative consequentialism is the inverse of ordinary consequentialism. Reasonable estimates of consequences seem to involve a different kind of probability from that discussed in 1.b above. There is disagreement about how consequentialism can best be formulated as a precise theory, and so there are various versions of consequentialism. The Teleological Ethical Theories are also concerned about the consequences of actions talking about the choice of right or wrong based on the good or bad effects it generates. Consequentialism is based on two principles: Whether an act is right or wrong depends only on the results of that act The more good consequences an act produces, the better or more right that act. Pleasures pass by as quickly as actions. All the advice on this site is general in nature. The most famous version of this theory is utilitarianism. Welfarism: The view that only the welfare or well-being of individuals determines the value of an outcome. So the total happiness we had is three times the happiness I had. But you might think that whether my action was morally wrong depends on what consequences it would have been reasonable for me to expect, not on the actual consequences. Act consequentialism is a moral theory that tells us the morally right action is always the one that will produce the best overall outcome in the world. The philosophy also fails to consider certain values, such as justice or fairness, in determining the morality of an action. Further, if you have a big secret that would repel nice honest people, any nice honest person who learns your secret will not want to be your friend. For another example, suppose you are a surgeon with five patients, each about to die for lack of a certain medicine that you can obtain (in sufficient quantity) only by killing and grinding up a sixth patient. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Deontological ethics is best understood through the contrast of utilitarianism which is based on consequentialism, or the idea that the morality of an action is valued based on its consequences,. One reply to this objection is that since you know better how to help yourself and those near to you, you will get better results if you focus on them rather than people strange to you or out of view. Another worry is that 1 and 2 do not imply 3. Such a conception is egalitarian in the sense that it counts every bit of your happiness as being just as important as the same sized bits of my happiness. Egoism. One of the main reasons to investigate moral theory is to learn how to approach these questions reasonably. We need to see ourselves clearly in order to do good effectively in the long run. A different kind of reply to the objection is to adjust consequentialism itself so that it is no longer impartial. And if you are a skilled surgeon, anything that hampers your operations will hurt people. For instance, according to this theory, choosing to donate money to charities without expecting anything back other than knowing you helped make someones life better would be considered an act of altruistic behavior. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. It is the only moral framework that can be used to justify military force or war. Some others are presented below, and anyone can invent new ones by following the instructions given in section 1a.
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