PHL 201 Lecture Notes - Hardtop, Consequentialism, Moral Agency
30 Apr 2012
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The principle of charity something i should have mentioned at the start . Everything we do has consequences; every act leaves the world in some ways different from before. Whether you put your right sock on before your left rearranges the molecules in the air a little differently than otherwise, but matters little beyond that. Some actions have consequences that are much more significant. But, if all that we do has consequences, this suggests a simple and compelling approach to acting morally. Consequentialism, in short, is the view that it cannot be improved on. Stated plainly: consequentialism is the view that acting morally means acting so as to produce the best outcomes. Consequentialism can take many forms; utilitarianism being a famous species within the genus. Jeremy bentham argued that there is one ultimate moral principle, namely, the. This principle requires us always to choose whatever action or social policy would have the best consequences for everyone concerned.
