01:730:105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Consequentialism
23 Oct 2018
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Utilitarianism is a moral theory so it lets you know what you are morally required or permitted to do. Everybody ought to be what maximizes total happiness- takes everyone into account. If consequentialism is true, we"re required to do what"s best. But if we don"t know what"s best because we don"t know how the consequences of our actions will shake out. And so, if consequentialism is true, we don"t know what we"re required to do. Another objection: consequentialism permits (requires!) terrible actions. 1st premise: if consequentialism is true, it"s permissible to chop up chuck. 2nd premise: it"s not permissible to chop up chuck. We need some more structure in the theory. A constraint is a rule that forbids you from doing something, even when doing so maximizes the good (produces the best state of affairs) Constraints impose limits on when it"s permissible to maximize the good. Non-consequentialism is a moral theory that includes constraints.
