Hence people can agree on consequentialism while disagreeing about what kind of outcome is good or bad. The right act is the act which maximises well-being. Consequentialism in Ethics | Definition, Examples & Analysis | Perlego For example, suppose there is a machine that tosses a fair coin with such precision that whenever you press the Toss button, the coin always comes up heads. Alienation, Consequentialism, and the Demands of Morality,, Scheffler, Samuel. A second worry is that premise (1) may not support statement (2). Negative consequentialism is the inverse of ordinary consequentialism. Now, this objection does not directly apply to Plain Consequentialism or Plain Scalar Consequentialism, for these theories do not say that we should think about consequences. One-of-a-kind videos highlight the ethical aspects of current and historical subjects. Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism. Telephone services were more or less global by the early 20th century. Rule Consequentialism in one or another form has received a great deal of discussion. Now, one reply to the extreme examples is that such opportunities are extremely unusual. Utilitarianism, Act and Rule | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Oxford: Oxford University Press. It requires much time and knowledge, which many people do not possess. By contrast, the deontological theories of John Locke and Immanuel Kant are nonconsequentialist. "You are not acting your age." "That was unprofessional behavior.". Although the majority of people would benefit from this idea, most would never agree to it. In Section 4 we shall return to more complex reasons to think consequentialism is true and some worries about those reasons. For consequentialism, the moral rightness or wrongness of an act depends on the consequences it produces. Suppose I donate $100 to Malaria Aid, but it turns out this group aids malaria and I have funded an outbreak. First published Tue May 20, 2003; substantive revision Mon Jun 3, 2019. The term 'deontology' originates from the Greek words of 'deon', meaning duty, and 'logos', meaning science or the study of. (From 1 and 2), An action is good insofar as its consequences include the satisfaction of desire. Utilitarianism | Definition, Philosophy, Examples, Ethics, Philosophers Obligation dilemmas are situations where we feel we are obliged to opt for more than one choice. Act consequentialism is flexible and can take account of any set of circumstances, however exceptional. If you want to do good for me, doing the sorts of things that are normally thought of as violating my personal rights is probably a bad bet.