03/10 Consequentialist Ethics Free Online FlashCards

What is consequentialism?

Consequentialism holds that an action, rule, policy, trait, or institution is morally assessed fundamentally by its consequences.

What is the maximizing principle?

An act is right when no available alternative would produce a better overall outcome.

What does rule consequentialism evaluate?

Rule consequentialism evaluates rules by asking which rules would produce the best consequences if generally accepted and followed.

What is utility in utilitarian ethics?

Utility is a measure of what makes outcomes better or worse in utilitarian theories.

What does hedonism claim about welfare?

Hedonism identifies welfare with pleasure and the absence of pain.

What does impartiality require?

Impartiality requires comparable benefits and harms to receive comparable weight, regardless of whose interests they are.

What is aggregation?

Aggregation combines benefits and harms across people to determine an outcome’s overall value.

How does total consequentialism rank outcomes?

Total consequentialism favors the outcome with the greatest total amount of value.

What does prioritarianism prioritize?

Prioritarian theories give extra weight to benefits received by people who are worse off.

What is the demandingness objection?

The demandingness objection claims that maximizing welfare may require excessive sacrifices of one’s money, time, comfort, or personal opportunities.

What is the rights objection?

The rights objection claims consequentialism may permit violating rights, such as privacy or due process, when doing so produces sufficiently greater benefits.

Why is consequentialist calculation difficult?

Consequentialist reasoning must consider uncertainty, indirect effects, institutions, trust, social norms, and future consequences—not only immediate results.