PHI 2600 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Primum Non Nocere, Consequentialism, Jeremy Bentham
Document Summary
Treat people as an end, and never as a means to an end. inherent value. When our actions toward someone reflect the inherent value of that person means to an end. When we treat a person as a tool to achieve something else. "part of the fundamental nature of the universe. " An action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favorable than unfavorable. Consequentialist theories are sometimes called teleological theories, from the greek word telos, or end, since the end result of the action is the sole determining factor of its morality. The three subdivisions of consequentialism are: egoism, altruism, and utilitarianism. Two types of bentham"s utilitarianism: act utilitarianism & hedonistic utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism: we tally the consequences of each action we perform and thereby determine on a case by case basis whether an action is morally right or wrong.
