consequentialism examples in everyday life

The reasonable way to estimate consequences would involve at least glancing through the pamphlet, but I am not interested. Nor does the objection apply to Rule Consequentialism. The Consequentialist Perspective. In, Railton, Peter. Thus, a 'morally right' action would be concluded based on the achievement of the best possible outcome. Dr. Drew has published over 20 academic articles in scholarly journals. (From 4 and 5), Desiring something is the same thing as thinking that it will increase ones happiness or decrease ones unhappiness. The most traditional view among Consequentialists is that the only kind of result that is good in itself is happiness. More importantly, in the long run no result remains, or at least no earthly result. In other words, it means that the result or outcome of taking a certain course of action will determine whether or not it was morally sound. The rules that should be adopted are the rules that would produce the best results if they were adopted by most people. For example, welfare consequentialism, or welfarism, maintains that all that matters or is good is welfare, or well-being. Individuals are put in a position to make a choice between one life vs. multiple lives. While the burglar only sought to benefit themselves, their robbery actually stopped the crime. See Griffin (1986); Scanlon (1993). Good and Bad Actions., Pettit, Philip. However, in support of consequentialism it might be argued that many of the things listed above do influence the good or bad consequences of an act, particularly when formulating ethical rules, and so they become incorporated in consequentialist ethical thinking; but only through the back door, not directly. There are lots of perfectly realistic cases where act . Then you will have had twice as much happiness as I had. Bufacchi, V. (2009). It differs from utilitarianism in focusing more on individual pleasure than collective good (Scheffler, 2009). 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. For example, lying may be considered acceptable if it leads to a positive outcome, such as saving someone's life. On the other hand, one might think it is impossible to know what is morally right; morality seems permanently controversial and mysterious. "Many people can incorporate altruism into their everyday life with small acts of kindness," says Myszak. To practice one skill, one must neglect or even undermine another skill. In other words, one must ask whether the action promotes benefit overall. 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. One might propose, for example, that an action is good insofar as it decreases the amount of meddling in the world. Consequentialist vs. non-consequentialist theories of ethics There are two broad categories of ethical theories concerning the source of value: consequentialist and non-consequentialist. (Before explaining this point, we should note that consequentialism on most versions is a theory about the moral quality of actions. Utilitarianism Meaning. Your focus must be on the actions taken instead of the results achieved. So far as you can tell, heads and tails are equally likely, even if objectively there is a 100% chance of heads. A more general reply to the claim that consequentialism advises us to meddle in other peoples business is that even where secrecy would not be involved, there are Consequentialist reasons for you to avoid direct meddling with others private spheres and personal affairs. Hedonism is a type of consequentialism that states that the pursuit of pleasure should be the highest moral priority. Suppose that by killing X, an entirely innocent person, we can save the lives of 10 other innocent people, A consequentialist would say that killing X is justified because it would result in only 1 person dying, rather than 10 people dying, It seems sensible to base ethics on producing happiness and reducing unhappiness, It seems sensible to base ethics on the consequences of what we do, since we usually take decisions about what to do by considering what results will be produced. Another worry is that it is obscure whether there is anything sensible that might be meant by a greater or lesser amount of satisfaction of desire. Are all desires to count or only those that exist at the time of the action or the decision (even if they disappear before most of the consequences arrive)? Alienation, Consequentialism, and the Demands of Morality,, Scheffler, Samuel. One could produce more overall happiness in the world by doing charity work tomorrow than by watching television all day tomorrow. 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. 3. A rainbow is also a symbol for the LGBTQ+community as well, representing togetherness, unity, and pride. 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. But he remembers that stealing is generally regarded as wrong. 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. 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. Having life is something that provides value to people. In general, whatever is being evaluated, we ought to choose the one that will produce the best overall results. One argument for consequentialism begins from the premise that whatever a person does, she does in order to produce some sort of good result. Plain Scalar Consequentialism is different. examples of moral decisions in everyday life. That does not mean consequentialism tells you to leave me entirely alone. Your email address will not be published. I do not donate. The resulting confusion is defused by showing that whether Sen's CA . Despite its flaws, consequentialism remains a valuable framework for ethical decision-making, especially when used in conjunction with other ethical theories and considerations. If that is right, then consequentialism itself must be wrong because consequentialism is at root the idea that we ought to bring about good consequences. For example, suppose that many years ago, before anyone knew that gold is made of atoms or that it is the element with atomic number 79, Jack and Jill were hiking in unclaimed land and came upon some heavy shiny lumps. Utilitarianism holds that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number. Many of our actions are aimed at developing a skil. A worry about the argument is that premise (5) may not be true. For example, perhaps we can do the most good overall if we forcibly stop people from wasting their time and energy on pointless or harmful things like driving SUVs, watching television, eating meat, following sports, and so on. Oxford: Oxford University Press. It follows the thought that actions can be judged entirely on the result of the act in question. It teaches: Rule consequentialism bases moral rules on their consequences. Continued difficult deception uses up mental resources. 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. One example of consequentialism would be praising a burglar who accidentally robs a crime lord. If I point to a pebble and say that it is a good pebble, you will not know what I mean. 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. Consequentialism may ask us to meddle too much into other peoples business. (2021). 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. Obligation dilemmas are situations where we feel we are obliged to opt for more than one choice. Look at any of the standard anti-consequentialist philosophical examples - trolley car, organ bank, . Results-based ethics produces this important conclusion for ethical thinking: This far-fetched example may make things clearer: The classic form of results-based ethics is called utilitarianism. Now, serious inequality in external goods tends to reduce the total happiness. Even though a whole set of consequences has no further consequences, it might have further implications. For general social opinion does not agree that the objectively right action is the one whose consequences are best. Reasonable Consequentialism may be too simple. Further, it is important that people be free to make decisions for themselves, even poor decisions, because that is the only way that people develop strength of character and because constant experimentation is the only way humanity learns about the various possibilities of life. See Rawls (1955). An example of consequentialism is the utilitarian theory. Why would she have that additional desire? Impartiality: The view that the identity of individuals is irrelevant to the moral value of an outcome. Here are three examples of consequentialism ethics playing out in three very different areas: Baby Hitler If you could go back in time and kill Hitler as a baby, would you do it? This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. There are many different forms of consequentialism depending on how one values outcomes. Reviewers ensure all content reflects expert academic consensus and is backed up with reference to academic studies. Whether an act is right or wrong depends only on the results of that act, The more good consequences an act produces, the better or more right that act, A person should choose the action that maximises good consequences, People should live so as to maximise good consequences. The University of Hong Kong 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. Or suppose you are on average twice as happy as I am, and we live equally long. See Sidgwick (1907); Brink (1986). See Frey (1984). An action that brings about more benefit than harm is good, while an action that causes more harm than benefit is not. According to act utilitarianism, then, the right thing to do tomorrow is to go out and do charity work; it is wrong to stay home and watch television all day. 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! Natural Rights: Bentham and John Stuart Mill. In. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. While there are many varieties of consequentialism, their common thread is that, as the name suggests, normative evaluation of particular actions or rules depends on an analysis of consequences alone. See Geach (1956); Foot (1985); Thomson (1993). The right act is the act which maximises well-being. It's hard to measure and compare the 'goodness' of those consequences. This moral theory deals with the rightness and wrongness of actions, which .

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