In order to determine which of the possible actions is the right one, agents must be able to rank the outcomes of each action, from the worst to the best. Pluralist act-consequentialism faces a difficulty.
Many of these alternative accounts of the good are pluralist: that is, they claim that there are several different kinds of good thing which cannot all be brought under one head (see Moral pluralism). Among the things which have been held to be intrinsically good are knowledge, virtue, beauty, justice, and the flourishing of the environment as a whole. Moore ( 1903), whose theory, somewhat confusingly, used to be referred to as ideal utilitarianism, in contrast to the hedonistic variety (see Moore, G.E. The act-utilitarian holds, therefore, that the right action is the one which maximizes happiness. On this view, usually known as hedonism or welfarism, the good is pleasure, happiness or wellbeing (see Hedonism Happiness). By far the most popular and influential account of the good within the consequentialist camp is that offered by utilitarianism (see Utilitarianism). A visit to the dentist is only extrinsically good, because it leads to healthy teeth and the avoidance of toothache, but it is not in itself a good thing it is a necessary evil. (Where two or more actions come out equal best, then it is right to do any one of them.) Which action is in fact the right one will depend on what account of the good any particular act-consequentialist theory offers.Ī theory of the good is an account of those things which are intrinsically good, good in themselves, and not merely good as a means to something else which is good (see Good, theories of the §2). Deontological ethical theories, by contrast, hold that the right is independent of the good: certain kinds of action are wrong, and others right, independently of the goodness or badness of their consequences (see Deontological ethics Right and good).Īct-consequentialism, the simplest form of the theory, holds that the right action – the one you should do – is the one which would produce the greatest balance of good over bad consequences that is, the one which would maximize the good. It is characteristic of consequentialist theories to assess whether an action is right in terms of the amount of good it produces (see §4). They all tell us, that is, both what makes an action right or wrong, and what kinds of thing are good or valuable. Penal, economic or educational programmes are standardly judged by the goodness or badness of their results.Īll moral theories offer an account both of the right and of the good. Consequentialist considerations certainly figure importantly in issues of public policy. Consequentialism builds on what may seem to be the merest truism, namely that morality is concerned with making the world a better place for all.
Although the term ‘consequentialism’ is a recent coinage – it appears to have first been used in its present sense by Anscombe ( 1958) – it refers to a type of theory which has a long history.
0 kommentar(er)
