1 / 3

Consequentialist Ethical Theories

Consequentialist Ethical Theories. Egoism : the good is whatever promotes my long-term interests Hedonism : we should pursue pleasures that are not mixed with pain (prudence, justice, knowledge), satisfy natural desires (food, sleep), & avoid vain desires (fame, fashion)

may-gibson
Télécharger la présentation

Consequentialist Ethical Theories

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Consequentialist Ethical Theories • Egoism: the good is whatever promotes my long-term interests • Hedonism: we should pursue pleasures that are not mixed with pain (prudence, justice, knowledge), satisfy natural desires (food, sleep), & avoid vain desires (fame, fashion) • Objection: how can egoism help us resolve ethical conflicts? Epicurus 341-270 BCE

  2. 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 • The morality of an act is different from the person or character responsible for the act J. Bentham(1748-1843) J. S. Mill (1808-73)

  3. 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; besides, 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 • Objection: what about when rules conflict?

More Related