But Expectable Consequentialism has a strange implication. (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. If you happen to be in charge of setting speed limits, you might be thinking that a bad result is a death: the fewer deaths, the better. The implication is that the rest of them are wrong. Campbell, Richmond, and Sowden, Lanning, eds. The Consequentialist Perspective. In, Railton, Peter. Various nonconsequentialist views are that morality is all about doing ones duty, respecting rights, obeying nature, obeying God, obeying ones own heart, actualizing ones own potential, being reasonable, respecting all people, or not interfering with othersno matter the consequences. Thus, a 'morally right' action would be concluded based on the achievement of the best possible outcome. If there is such an authority, then actions one chooses by deferring to the authority may be morally right according to Double Consequentialism even if they are morally wrong according to Dual Consequentialism. 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. And if someone thinks of the people she knows that way, it seems a stretch to call her a loving or even a caring person. For example, if you think that the whole point of morality is (a) to spread happiness and relieve suffering, or (b) to create as much freedom as possible in the world, or (c) to promote the survival of our species, then you accept consequentialism. Rule Consequentialism in one or another form has received a great deal of discussion. Simply, consequentialism means that the moral worth of an action is determined by the result it produces rather than by any predetermined principles of morality. Plain Scalar Consequentialism: Of any two things a person might do at any given moment, one is better than another to the extent that its overall consequences are better than the others overall consequences. Thus it would seem that the standards of goodness vary with the kind of thing we are talking about. We formed four focus groups containing 6-9 participants each. The right act is the act which maximizes well-being. (2022). Utilitarianism theory (or universal hedonism) refers to an ethical theory that determines the morality of the actions of an individual based on their outcome. Although the next chapter was intriguing and urged me to read on. Section 3 above presented several objections to consequentialism, arguing that consequentialism conflicts with one or another basic piece of common sense about morality. (Before explaining this point, we should note that consequentialism on most versions is a theory about the moral quality of actions. But if I desire something slightly and then intensely, which counts? An action can show what kind of person I am even if it does not make me be that kind of person. See Sen (1982). (From 2), What objectively ought to happen is whatever would promote the greatest possible balance of satisfaction of the desires of all people. But this objection assumes that an authority on the question whether an action is objectively right would have to know exactly what objective rightness is. For one thing, 1 and 2 do not tell us that the ideal spectator would have no concerns other than those she derives from sympathy, but 3 does make that assumption. The philosophy also fails to consider certain values, such as justice or fairness, in determining the morality of an action. For example, if eating a certain food will bring an individual pleasure but harm others, it is considered moral according to this theory. 1. The objection does, however, directly attack Reasonable Consequentialism and Dual Consequentialism, because these theories say that an action is morally wrong unless we have a reasonable estimate of its consequences. Hence in the context of consequentialism, perhaps actions should normally be understood to mean intentional actions.) Suppose I will bake a cake if you win a coin toss, and you are now deciding whether to toss the coin or just walk away. By contrast, the deontological theories of John Locke and Immanuel Kant are nonconsequentialist. Perhaps the most standard precise version of consequentialism is Plain Consequentialism. This philosophy states that the morality of an action is best judged by the utility or usefulness of such an action. But it was the precise manner and position that made you win. Some others are presented below, and anyone can invent new ones by following the instructions given in section 1a. For example, suppose God, who knows all the consequences, has announced that certain kinds of things are right. Sharp criticisms of laissez-faire capitalism and militarism sit side-by-side with denouncements of . Consequentialism says that right or wrong depend on the consequences of an act, and that the more good consequences are produced, the better the act. For instance, consequentialist theories are often cited when discussing the morality of euthanasia, capital punishment, and animal testing. Another way of replying to the objection is to propose yet another version of consequentialism. See Le Guin (1973); Rawls (1999); Harsanyi (1977). Some people will be punished perhaps unfairly, but in total, less people will break the law, so the harshness of the punishment is justified. Utilitarianism suggests that the only item of intrinsic worth is happiness, but there are also other commodities that are worth considering. Another important point about consequences is that the actual consequences of an action, beyond the action itself, need not be actual outcomes. Internet Encyclopedia of Philisophy: Consequentialism. . To see how someone might question that, think about skills and skill. it's hard to predict the future consequences of an act, in almost every case the most we can do is predict the probability of certain consequences following an act. For example, welfare consequentialism, or welfarism, maintains that all that matters or is good is welfare, or well-being. We firmly agree, for example, that equality and rights are very important, that it is not wrong to favor our family and friends over strangers, that it is wrong to torture children, and so on. (From 3 and 4), Good and desirable are synonyms. Suppose you are on average just as happy as I am, but you live twice as long. One example of consequentialism would be praising a burglar who accidentally robs a crime lord. A worry about this line of thought is that if there were some simple theory like consequentialism that captured what morality is about, one might think that we would have recognized it long ago. consequentialism examples in everyday life. (Premise), One ought always to choose an action whose overall consequences are at least as good as the overall consequences of any of the alternative actions; in other words, consequentialism is true. (The name Rule Consequentialism is an established term for many variant theories similar to the above). The reasonable way to estimate consequences would involve at least glancing through the pamphlet, but I am not interested. Moral common sense is shaped by and for the demands of ordinary moral life and so common sense may not be very reliable in odd cases. For instance, obeying highway speed limits might cause some individuals to miss their destination on time. Your email address will not be published. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy gives a plain and simple definition of consequentialism: Of all the things a person might do at any given moment, the morally right action is the one with the best overall consequences. For example, if stealing food feeds your starving family, a consequentialist would say it is the right thing to do. The philosophy of consequentialism is based on the belief that the moral and ethical value of one's action should be judged by the consequence of such action. Its standard is high. Hedonism, on the other hand, says something is good if the consequence produces pleasure or avoids pain. So far as you can tell, heads and tails are equally likely, even if objectively there is a 100% chance of heads. Publicado en junio 16, 2022 por . Expectable Consequentialism: The morally right action is the action whose reasonably expectable consequences are best. She holds a Masters degree in International Business from Lviv National University and has more than 6 years of experience writing for different clients. See Jackson (1991). This makes life nicer and helps people be concerned for each other rather than fearful of each other, and they will therefore do more good for each other. So, an action may be deemed morally right even if it harms certain individuals or violates their rights as long as the overall outcome is beneficial. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. The right act is the act which maximises well-being. 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 example, in situations where the goal is to maximize overall happiness or minimize overall suffering, consequentialism may be the most effective method. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education and holds a PhD in Education from ACU. 10 The theoretical world of entrepreneurship. The review process on Helpful Professor involves having a PhD level expert fact check, edit, and contribute to articles. Act consequentialism is the belief that we have to consider - you guessed it - the consequences of our actions. Famine, Affluence, and Morality., Sinnott-Armstrong, Walter. There are more versions of consequentialism than are presented above. For a more extreme example of meddling, suppose that by using your grandmothers pension to contribute to efficient and thoughtful charities you can develop permanent clean water supplies for many distant villages, thus saving hundreds of people from painful early deaths and permitting economic development to begin. See Griffin (1986); Scanlon (1993). Telephone services were more or less global by the early 20th century. So, for example, according to rule consequentialism we consider lying to be wrong because we know that in general lying produces bad consequences. "Many people can incorporate altruism into their everyday life with small acts of kindness," says Myszak. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that suggests that the best actions are those that maximize utility. Negative consequentialism is the inverse of ordinary consequentialism. For example, a Consequentialist who thinks the kind of consequence that matters is happiness is unlikely to think that one persons happiness is more important than anothers (so long as the amounts of happiness in question are the same). 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. One could produce more overall happiness in the world by doing charity work tomorrow than by watching television all day tomorrow. For example, when faced with multiple simultaneous patients in the emergency department it is important to have a way of reaching a decision quickly about which patient to attend to first. How Thinking about Character and Utilitarianism Might Lead to Rethinking the Character of Utilitarianism., Railton, Peter. If the outcome is good, how one achieved the outcome is not that important. It teaches: Rule consequentialism bases moral rules on their consequences. Almost all lack standard names, so the names used here are mostly invented here. Hence consequentialism conflicts with common sense. A Relatively Plausible Principle of Beneficence: Reply to Mulgan., Norcross, Alastair. But since many people regard it as not quite in the spirit of consequentialism and many of the issues surrounding Rule Consequentialism are unique to it, we shall say little more about it here. Copyright 2023 Helpful Professor. 36 short illustrated videos explain behavioral ethics concepts and basic ethics principles. Duty-based . Consequentialism has both practical and philosophical problems: And these are things that many think are relevant to ethical judgements. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. examples of moral decisions in everyday life. The criticisms of consequentialism raise a number of fundamental questions that are important in ascertaining the relationship with criminal law and justice practice. But in reply to most of these objections, Section 3 presented arguments to show that consequentialism supports those bits of common sense after all. (From 5 and 6), 8. (Premise), An action is good insofar as it helps to satisfy desire. And perhaps that is why common sense favors some partiality. But that way of thinking about life is, one might think, inhuman and immoral. About The Helpful Professor From utilitarianism and hedonism to egoism and act consequentialism, each form seeks to maximize the net benefits or minimize the harm caused by a decision or action. Another worry about the above argument is that it presupposes that the notion of overall benefit makes sense. See Smart (1961). And if you are a skilled surgeon, anything that hampers your operations will hurt people. He may or may not find consequentialism plausible, but in any case he knows he does not have a solid theoretical understanding of rightness; so he reasonably decides to trust his communitys confident view and does not pursue the scheme. (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. 58 animated videos - 1 to 2 minutes each - define key ethics terms and concepts. What is morality? Consequentialism is, as we have seen, one of many different proposed answers to that question. Although the majority of people would benefit from this idea, most would never agree to it. Eventually you decide to toss the coin, you win, and I bake the cake. For example, suppose Paul is considering stealing money from his grandmother to help the poor. There are many different forms of consequentialism depending on how one values outcomes. But this reason for favoring consequentialism seems confused. But Jill had handled gold a few times before and could make a good guess about whether the lumps were really gold. We need to see ourselves clearly in order to do good effectively in the long run. Consequentialism seems to tell us to make all our decisions by thinking about overall consequences. While it may violate certain international humanitarian laws due to immediate risks associated with these activities (rule level), they ultimately benefit humanity if peace can be brought about (state level). If only permanent things mattered, then your happiness and misery in this life would not matter at all; but surely they do matter. In economics, we can replace the terms . If every action is taken to produce some benefit, that shows only that the benefit is part of the reason for every action, not that the benefit is the whole reason. London: Edward Elgar Publishing. Den Uyl, Douglas, & Machan, Tibor R. Recent Work on the Concept of Happiness., Firth, Roderick. Consequentialism would seem to say that you should do this, but moral common sense says that you should not. Now, rationality and objectivity are impartial; they do not favor one person over another. When your boss says she cares only about results, that commonly means she does not care whether your gamble had a 1% or a 99% chance of succeeding. However, once one introduces such a complex standard of goodness for consequences, questions arise as to how to rate the relative importance of the parts of the standard and about how such a view can be given theoretical elegance. (Or perhaps you do not even know that it is a precision machine.) But when you are deciding whom to spend your money on, common sense seems to hold that you are normally morally permitted to favor yourself over strangers and often morally required to favor your children over strangers. If you decide by looking to the consequences, you are not really an honest person. Of course, once one introduces such a complex standard of goodness for consequences, questions arise about how to rate the relative importance of the parts of the standard and about how such a view can be given theoretical elegance. (From 1 and 3), The right action is the one that objectively ought to happen. (Premise), What is good for you is happiness for you and whatever promotes that. https://doi.org/10.1080/0731129x.2017.1345221, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/egoism/. (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. But skill is not one thing. Today, consequentialism has many different forms developed over the years. (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. In other words, ethical judgments should be based on the outcome or consequence of a particular course of action rather than on ones intentions or beliefs. A billionaire needs an organ transplant. Learn more about our academic and editorial standards. A real-life example of this would be someone who chooses to invest in stocks with higher potential returns, even though doing so has the potential to have unintended consequences on other investors or markets in general. 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. If there were just one option that is obligatory, then the choice would be easy. For example, this could be in times of war or a financial crash. Although those three views disagree about which kinds of consequences matter, they agree that consequences are all that matters. These variations are themselves derived in the same way as the general rules. Hence good seems not to have a meaning in that context. If people can get where they are going more quickly, they will probably use the time they saved to do things that will add happiness to their lives or the lives of others. And since we ought to do what is rationally justifiable, we ought to do whatever does the most good overall. Not every version of consequentialism is anthropocentric, and as several contributors point out, some or all of the often very strong claims defended by non-anthropocentric thinkers can be expressed in a consequentialist framework. It is unclear, then, whether the standard to which we should hold theories of morality is that they must explain why morality is easy to know about or why morality is terribly hard to know about! When directed toward making social, economic, or. That is, one must look to see whether financial benefit outweighs the health drawback, and whether the benefit to me outweighs the harm to you. It may be a benefit of a particular kind: a financial benefit, a heath benefit, entertainment or knowledge. For another example, one important implication of an action I take may be that I (already) am a certain kind of person. We cite peer reviewed academic articles wherever possible and reference our sources at the end of our articles. So looking for a range of 'realistic' - real life, true to life, matter of fact, everyday, &c. - situations to which it applies misses its totally general applicability. Consequentialism is usually taken to be different from deontology which emphasizes the type of action instead of its . It emphasizes the importance of outcomes in determining the morality of an action rather than relying on predetermined moral principles or personal beliefs. According to Fiet (2022), consequentialism: is a philosophical approach, one of a class of normative, teleological ethical theories, which posits that the consequences of ones conduct are the ultimate basis for judging it, either its rightness or wrongness (p. 225). by Jason Blakely December 02, 2020. For if good consequences is meaningless, then it cannot be correct to define right action in terms of good consequences, as consequentialism normally does. For example, an extra dollar does more good for a poor person than for a rich person. Web Privacy Policy See Sidgwick (1907); Brink (1986). They reject any notion that positive results justify negative means, as every action carries its own costs and benefits regardless of the intent or purpose behind them. It has a moral sense and an objective sense. To keep a big secret, you must actively mislead and deceive people and keep them at a distance. Consequentialism. Behavioral and Brain Sciences Some examples of nonconsequentialist decisions Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 February 2010 Gerald M. Phillips Article Metrics Save PDF Cite Rights & Permissions Abstract An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. You cannot know all that before you act (or after). However, in letting the missile launch, thousands of people will die. A sane person will decide on a project and then simply follow through, unless some new situation arises. (2010). Ethical altruism carries the opposite sentiment from ethical egoism. For the moment, Jill was an authority for Jack on whether these lumps were gold. It may be a short-run benefit or a long-run benefit. If the outcome of any action is positive for everyone in society, then it's morally correct; otherwise, it is wrong. The University of Hong Kong The purpose of this study was to examine everyday life situations in which mothers encounter difficulties encouraging healthy energy balance-related behavior in their school-age children. Stubbs, A. Utilitarianism Meaning. The moral philosophy behind deontological ethics suggests that each person has a duty to always do the right thing. And even people who do not believe in a life after death often give their lives for larger causes. This form of consequentialism suggests that following established rules, even when they may lead to negative outcomes, will produce more desirable results in the long run than acting without any rules at all (Hooker, 2002). Giving Voice To Values View All Eight short . For example, a company wants to empty waste into a river; the people living downstream object. All utilitarian theories share four key elements: consequentialism, welfarism, impartiality, and aggregationism. Further, institutions that secure basic external equalities, or that aim to protect whoever is poorest and weakest, tend to give everyone more security. Perhaps, then, what counts as a good result is the amount of life that the action adds or subtracts in the world? See Foot (1985); Scanlon (1998). Consequentialism, as its name suggests, is simply the view that normative properties depend only on consequences. C. Morality and the Theory of Rational Behavior., Hart, H. L. A. Two-level consequentialism combines elements from both rule and state consequentialist theories. 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. See Sen (1982), Nagel (1986), Scheffler (1994), Bennett (1989), Scheffler (1989), Brink (1986), and Skorupski (1995). McElwee, B. For what is meant by love here? Moral Philosophy studies what is right and wrong, and related philosophical issues. See Singer (1972); Jackson (1991); Kidder (2003). The result justifies the means are based on a consequentialism. Shaver, R. (2019, January 15). Utilitarianism holds that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Consequentialism. In Section 2 we shall look at two initial reasons to think consequentialism is true and some worries about those reasons. Hence it would be misleading to say that consequentialism is the view that morality is all about results. Hence consequentialism is opposed to common sense and so is probably wrong. Impartiality: The view that the identity of individuals is irrelevant to the moral value of an outcome. Reasonable Consequentialism says that for an action of mine to be right, I must actually come to a reasonable conclusion beforehand about the consequences. First published Tue May 20, 2003; substantive revision Mon Jun 3, 2019. Researchers identify many criticisms of consequentialism, such as its lack of consideration for individual rights, reliance on calculation and prediction, and failure to consider certain values, such as justice or fairness. Negative consequentialists focus exclusively on avoiding unfavorable outcomes when evaluating decisions or behaviors (Scheffler, 2009). is it happiness, pleasure, satisfaction of desire or something else? We may sometimes act not to produce a benefit, but in order to obey a principle we accept. Kant's ethics applies to all situations in which somebody does an intentional action. Redistribution of Wealth It's no secret that the gap between the rich and the poor is widening as time passes. Virtue Ethics in Healthcare Case 1. Rather, fairness is traditionally concerned with distributions of what we might call external goods goods such as money, status, power, and political rights. This ignores the way in which that happiness is shared out and so would seem to approve of acts that make most people happy, and a few people very unhappy, or that make a few people ecstatically happy and leave the majority at best neutral. A further worry about this new proposal is that it still does not directly tell us not to meddle. This moral theory deals with the rightness and wrongness of actions, which . An example here would be providing medical aid during wartime. It says nothing about right and wrong. Hooker, Brad; Mason, Elinor; and Miller, Dale E. Jackson, Frank. And since your dollar can usually do more good for desperate refugees than for yourself or your friends, consequentialism seems to hold that you ought to spend most of your dollars on strangers. Your focus must be on the actions taken instead of the results achieved. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 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). For example, you may do something simply because you have promised or because it is required by law, without looking to the consequences. For one thing, each of us is in a better position to understand her own affairs than you are and more naturally and reliably concerned than you are to make sure that her own affairs are carried out well. Therefore, your intentional action of tossing did not make you win. 6. There is disagreement about how consequentialism can best be formulated as a precise theory, and so there are various versions of consequentialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. The concept of consequentialism has been widely discussed in philosophical circles for centuries, and its implications are far-reaching. I simply assume that this group fights tuberculosis, and I do not look at the pamphlet because I do not care. Friendly Consequentialism: Of all the things a person might do at any given moment, the morally right action is the one that has the best consequences for that person and her friends. To see the difference in principle between these theories, suppose there is a somewhat reliable authority on what specific kinds of actions are objectively right. The more happiness there is, the better. Also, in certain situations, consequentialism can lead to decisions that are objectionable, even though the consequences are arguably good. If you do not want to praise my conduct, you might prefer a new version of consequentialism: Reasonable Consequentialism: An action is morally right if and only if it has the best reasonably expected consequences. 3. Here too you end up having had twice as much happiness as I had, so the total happiness we had is three times the happiness I had. To find out whether the action is rationally justifiable overall, one must look beyond these specific kinds of reason to find what overall reason there is. Additionally, predicting the future can be difficult due to unforeseen circumstances or changes in context. What matters is the total amount, not who gets what. Forming many romantic attachments hardly seems like the path toward perfection; nor perhaps does the widespread spiritual exercise of focusing on wishing people well without actually helping them.

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