Consequentialism, Natural Law Theory, Kantian Moral Theory - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Consequentialism, Natural Law Theory, Kantian Moral Theory

Philosophy 224Slide2

Consequentialism: The Basics

Consequentialism

is the name given to a family of more specific normative ethical position all of which share the conviction that it is the consequences of actions which determine their moral worth.

All

of these positions are committed to the following claims.

Right action is to be understood entirely in terms of the overall intrinsic value of the consequences of the action compared with the overall intrinsic value of the consequences associated with alternative actions an agent might perform instead.

An action is right

if and only if

its consequences would be at

least

as good as the consequences of any alternative action that the agent might instead perform.Slide3

Implications

There are a number of important implications of this statement of these claims.

Consequentialist theories are value-based.

They are comparative theories. They make specific reference to alternative actions and the rightness or wrongness of any action is dependent on the value of the consequences of those actions.

The consequentialist account of right action is a maximizing conception.

Consequentialism is an

impartialist

moral theory. We have to consider the consequences for everyone and everyone counts equally.Slide4

It'

s

All in the Family

The various specific forms of consequentialism share a commitment to these basic claims.

They differ in their theory of value.

The TV of

Utilitarianism

identifies intrinsic value with human welfare or happiness (

it

'

s

expression).

The TV of

Perfectionist Utilitarianism

identifies intrinsic value with human perfection.

The TV of

Rule Consequentialism

identifies intrinsic value with the acceptance value* of rules.

*The value of the consequences of the rule were it generally acceptedSlide5

Utilitarianism

The basic idea of U is that the rightness or wrongness of actions is determined by the their effect on human welfare or happiness, with maximization and impartiality assumed.

Measure of this effect is called

Utility

: the net value of the consequences of actions.

Result is the

Principle of Utility

.

An action is right

if and only if

its performance would likely produce at least as high utility as would any other alternative action.Slide6

What makes you fare well?

An important issue that all

utilitarians

must address is how to understand human welfare.

Classical

utilitarians

(J. S. Mill, J. Bentham) identify happiness (and thus human welfare) with pleasure and pain.

For this reason they are labeled

Hedonsitic

Utilitarians

.

How does adopting the hedonistic point of view alter the PU?Slide7

Perfectionist Consequentialism

PC adopts a different TV than utilitarianism.

Value Perfectionism

: states of human perfection (knowledge, excellence) that have intrinsic value.

Thus, the TRC of PC says

An action is right

iff

its performance would likely bring about a greater net balance of perfectionist goods than would any other alternative action.

What is a perfectionist good

?

If knowledge is a state of perfection, then those capacities and qualities which promote the acquisition of knowledge would be perfectionist goods.Slide8

Rule Consequentialism

Both U and PC focus on actions.

They are both forms of

Act

Consequentialism

.

There are a number of well recognized challenges to act utilitarianism.

As a result, some

consequentialists

have shifted their focus to the capacity of rules to guide our action.

When we shift with them it becomes possible to consider the consequences of the acceptance of various possible rules.Slide9

Playing by the Rules

On the assumption that some rules produce more valuable consequences than others we can specify a TV for RC.

An action is right

if and only if

it is permitted by a rule whose associated acceptance value is at least as high as the acceptance value of any other rule applying to the situation.

In the face of more than one possible action, RC directs you to identify the rules governing the possible actions and then compare the

rules

'

acceptance values to determine which action is right.Slide10

Consequentialism in Action

Applying consequentialism requires calculation and comparison.

Calculation can refer to an overt calculus or a more informal estimation. The explicit goal of the calculation is to identify the action/rule that maximizes the specified value(s).

Comparison must include all parties affected (in a relevant or significant way) by the proposed action.

See the example about inviting a guest lecturer on pp. 10-

11 of the Timmons handout.Slide11

Natural Law Theory

Natural Law Theory is based on the assumption that there are objective facts about human nature that can serve as the ground for objectively true moral principles.

Because of this, NLT is a value-based moral theory, but it is not the value of the consequences of the action alone, but the value of the human characteristics in question that are at issue.Slide12

Aquinas on Intrinsic Value

The chief historical proponent of NLT is St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274).

According to his theory of human nature, there are four basic intrinsic goods.

Human Life

Human Procreation

Human Knowledge

Human sociability

These four values serve as the basis for his NLT.Slide13

Basic Principle of NLT

However we conceive of human nature and its intrinsic value, the basic principle of NLT is:

Natural Law Theory

:

An action is right if and only if in performing the action one does not directly violate any of the basic values.

Thus stated, NLT seems to straightforwardly and non-controversially satisfy both the theoretical and practical aims of Moral Theory. But this picture is more complicated than it first appears.Slide14

The Doctrine of Double Effect

In many cases, a proposed action both potentially protects and violates one of the basic values.

To deal with these cases, proponents of NLT rely on the

Doctrine of Double Effect

.

DDE: An action that would bring about at least one evil and one good effect is morally permissible if and only if:

Intrinsic Permissibility: action (minus effects) is permissible.

Necessity: good effect requires the action.

Nonintenionality

: evil effect is not intended

Proportionality: evil effect not out of proportion with good effect.Slide15

Kantian Moral Theory

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) revolutionized philosophical ethics. Prior to Kant, people sought the origin of morality in the natural order, in the ends proper to human beings, or in feelings. In contrast, Kant seeks the conditions of the possibility of morality and locates them in the autonomy, the self-legislation, of the will.

When we think about moral obligation, he argued, what we need to account for is its categorical character, the fact that it commands us absolutely.Slide16

Kant and the Categorical

The focus on the categorical nature of obligation points to a TRC, but Kant also needs a TV. The notion of the categorical fills this need as well.

Kant makes a distinction between hypothetical and categorical willing, arguing that the latter can only be observed when it is the moral law itself that directs our will.Slide17

What about the Practical Aim?

So much for the Theoretical Aim of MT, how does Kant address the Practical Aim?

He does so with a fundamental moral principle called the Categorical Imperative.

Applying the categorical imperative to proposed actions provides a principle of moral evaluation, directing us to the right actions.Slide18

CI: Humanity Formulation

CI

Humanity

: An action is right if and only if the action treats persons (including oneself) as ends in themselves rather than as means to our ends.

There is both a negative (

don

'

t

treat

others

as means) and a positive (treat

others

as ends in themselves) requirement contained in the formulation.

The positive requirement is captured by Kant with the notion of Dignity.Slide19

CI: Universal Law Formulation

CI

Universal

Law:

Act always in such a way that you can will the maxim of your action to be universal law.

Despite the proximity of this formulation to the Golden Rule, it is really quite different. The UL formulation imposes a consistency requirement.

You should only act in such a way that everyone else should act and that you want them to act.Slide20

Putting Kant

'

s

Theory to Work

In employing either the Humanity or Universal Law formulations of the CI the question to answered is:

"

Does

the action under consideration satisfy the specified constraints

?

"

Kant held that the formulations are functionally synonymous. That means that they produce the same moral verdicts.

Unfortunately,

it

'

s

not always easy to see that this is the case. Timmons highlights some common examples which do support

Kant

'

s

contention. See the discussions starting on pp. 16 & 19. Do you agree?