Utilitarianism is the most wellknown version of consequentialism, with philosophers like jeremy bentham and john stuart mill arguing. Consequentialism and the law in medicine philosophical. Consequentialism in environmental ethics oxford handbooks this chapter summarizes consequentialist theory in its application to environmental ethics. Consequentialism is an attractive ethical approach because it provides clear and practical guidance at least in situations where outcomes are easy to predict.
Consequentialism in environmental ethics oxford handbooks. An analysis of its essential features shows that the preservation principle should be based on actual consequentialism, for it is. Bentham originator of utilitarianism equated happiness with pleasure and the absence of pain. Consequentialism is the class of normative ethical theories holding that the consequences of ones conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct.
Finally, three different interpretations of moral pluralism in. Pdf environmental ethicsc the study of ethical questions raised by human. It discusses several types of consequentialist theories, including. Ethical perspectives on the environmental impact of property. Jean thomas abstract this article analyzes hybrid philosophical models that combine deontological and consequentialist principles. Hybrid approaches to political and moral obligation are particularly appealing to moral realists because they enable policymakers to. Robert elliot discussed humancentred, nonhumancentred and consequentialist environmental ethics before this section and virtuebased environmental ethics afterwards. Consequentialism and environmental ethics 1st edition.
In this chapter we explain what the nodifference challenge is, focusing in particular on act consequentialism. As environmental ethics continued to grow in the twenty. Additionally, since much of the work in environmental ethics does not come from a consequentialist perspective, this volume provides. Thus, from a consequentialist standpoint, a morally right act or omission from acting is one that will produce a good outcome, or consequence. It contrasts consequentialist environmental ethics with deontological, virtue theoretic, and pragmatist alternatives, and it offers. Forthcoming in consequentialism and environmental ethics. This unit provides an introduction to the study of ethics and a brief overview of some of the main branches of philosophical thought about ethics. Environmental issues challenge contemporary ethical theorists to account for topics that traditional ethical theories do not address to any.
Consequentialism and environmental ethics avram hiller. This volume works to connect issues in environmental ethics with the best work in contemporary normative theory. This chapter summarizes consequentialist theory in its application to environmental ethics. For instance, most people would agree that lying is wrong.
Consequentialism an action is the right thing to do in certain circumstances if, of all the actions available in those circumstances, it would produce the best outcome. April 29, 2014 avram hiller, ramona ilea, and leonard kahn eds. Consequentialism internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Article 31, luxembourg, 2012 deborah oughton see debates in holmesrolsten iii, environmental ethics, 1988. Portmore the defining feature of consequentialism is that it ranks outcomes the outcomes associated with acts, codes of rules, sets of motives, or something else and then takes. Utilitarianism is a teleological theory and would look at the purpose or the end goal of an action. Consequentialism ethics general philosophy subjects wiley.
Deontological ethical theories tend to focus on doing whats right and on moral duties, principles, rules and rights, largely independent of consequences. Hybrid approaches to political and moral obligation are particularly appealing to. Ethics, rationality, and economic behaviour oxford university press. Apr 30, 2020 robert elliot discussed humancentred, nonhumancentred and consequentialist environmental ethics before this section and virtuebased environmental ethics afterwards. But if telling a lie would help save a persons life, consequentialism says its the right thing to do. It is the moral subject, which enables the action and its consequences to be performed. On some limitations of consequentialism in the sphere of environmental ethics alan holland 7. It discusses several types of consequentialist theories, including classical utilitarianism, biocentric consequentialism, and ecocentric or holistic consequentialism.
Utilitarianism is a consequentialist ethical theory and therefore when evaluating ethics and the environment they would look at the end result and not necessarily the action. Consequentialism and environmental ethics 1st edition avram hille. This book articulates and evaluates consequentialist responses to that challenge. Two examples of consequentialism are utilitarianism and hedonism. For those that dont know, consequentialism is an ethical system that seeks to root moral values and duties in the consequences ones actions will produce. Utilitarianism is the best approach to environmental issues. I \the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people i the greatest happiness principle \actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they.
Although there are significant challenges for the development of consequentialist environmental ethics, it is in many respects a new field of inquiry, and there is hope. Consequentialism i consequentialism in ethics is the view that whether or not an action is good or bad depends solely on what e ects that action has on the world. Utilitarianism is the best approach to environmental ethics discussenvironmental ethics surrounds the ethical relationship between people and the world we live in. Consequentialism stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Consequentialist decision theory and utilitarian ethics. According to non consequentialism, the rightness of an action is not solely determined by its consequences. Virtue ethics should be regarded as a viable approach to environmental ethics, and it should be considered alongside other, more familiar, approaches such as deontology and consequentialism. At first the scene was dominated by the intuitionists, whose leading representative was the english philosopher g. Ethics four branches 4 applied ethics applied ethics is a part of normative ethics that focus on particular fields the philosophical examination, from a moral standpoint, of particular issues in private and public life that are matters of moral judgment brenda almond. Consequentialism and environmental ethics crc press book this volume works to connect issues in environmental ethics with the best work in contemporary normative theory. Consequentialism and constraints consequentialist theories have two elements. There are ethical dilemmas we realise, such as a conflict between. Consequentialism ethics general philosophy subjects. Utilitarianism applied to environmental ethics by christopher.
Indirect, multidimensional consequentialism alan carter 5. Robin attfield gives an ethical critique of current international environmental problems and negotiations, and explains how international regimes will need to change to be able to cope with global environmental problems. An analysis of its essential features shows that the preservation principle should be based on actual consequentialism, for it is only the actual effects of our actions and policies that are important to the main issues of environmental preservation. The most famous version of nonconsequentialism is deontology, which holds that one has an absolute duty to obey certain rules.
Edited and introduced by stephen darwall, examines key topics in the consequentialist branch of moral theory. Consequentialism is an ethical system that seeks to root moral values and duties in the consequences ones actions will produce. This was an empirical observation people desire pleasure and seek to avoid pain. Reviewed by martin peterson, eindhoven university of technology. For example, if you think that the whole point of morality is a to spread happiness and relieve suffering, or. Consequentialist decision theory and utilitarian ethics peterj.
As well as introducing the central ideas that relate to environmental and development ethics and how these two areas of ethical study interare related, this unit shows why ethics as a discipline can. In particular, the contributors use consequentialist theory to address central questions in environmental ethics, such as questions about what kinds of things have value. What sets utilitarianism apart from other types of consequentialism is that it maintains that we must consider the consequences for everyone at least all humans, perhaps all sentient beings, whereas other versions of. The consequentialist side of environmental ethics environment. We talk about how different theories of causation affect the nodifference challenge. Though, most versions of non consequentialism allow some ethical relevance of consequences. Because utilitarians recognize only the intrinsic value of pleasure or desire satisfaction, the commitment to intrinsic value in environmental ethics has also driven a rather deep wedge between environmental ethics. Consequentialism and environmental ethics crc press book. Consequentialism and environmental ethics can be read as an attempt to correct this misunderstanding. According to nonconsequentialism, the rightness of an action is not solely determined by its consequences. There are two principles often found in environmental ethicsselfrealisation and. A final section traces a recent history of the use of nonconsequentialist utilitarianism, explaining how the present notion of nonconsequentialist utilitarianism differs from will kymlickas and daniel jacobsons notions. Consequentialism c g r a r m s journal of ethics and. The hedonic calculus was his method to determine the amount of pleasures.
Utilitarianism is one of a group of theories that maintain that the rightness or wrongness of an actio n depends on the actions consequences. The most famous version of non consequentialism is deontology, which holds that one has an absolute duty to obey certain rules. Many contributors focus on ethical theory and consequentialism generally, rather than environmental ethics. Inherently interdisciplinary in scope, the field benefits from the contributions of professionals outside philosophy, including physicians, lawyers, scientists, and. Consequentialism and environmental ethics published. By asking us to maximise benefit for the largest number of people or, for peter singer and other preference utilitarians, any creature who has. Edited and introduced by stephen darwall, these readings are essential for anyone interested in normative ethics.
Consequentialism in applied ethics bibliography philpapers. Environmental issues challenge contemporary ethical theorists to account for topics that traditional ethical theories do not address to any significant extent. Abstract suppose that a social behaviour norm speci. Ethical issues raised by abortion and euthanasia are part of the subject matter of bioethics, which deals with the ethical dimensions of new developments in medicine and the biological sciences.
Feb 20, 2014 utilitarianism is the best approach to environmental ethics discuss environmental ethics surrounds the ethical relationship between people and the world we live in. Dec 04, 20 in particular, the contributors use consequentialist theory to address central questions in environmental ethics, such as questions about what kinds of things have value. Consequentialism and environmental decisionmaking 6. Consequentialism is usually contrasted with deontological ethics or deontology, in that deontology, in which rules and moral duty are central, derives the rightness or wrongness of ones conduct from the character of the behaviour itself rather than the outcomes of the conduct. The analysis of moral subject in consequentialist ethics as a kind of nonutilitaristic consequentialism aims to show, that moral subject is of basie importance for it regardeless to the fact, that its analysis focuses predominantly on action and its concequences. Consequentialism is the view that morality is all about producing the right kinds of overall consequences. Deontological environmental ethics environmental responsibility. Three dominant ethical theories to ethical decisionmaking, namely the rights approach, the consequentialist approach and the virtue approach serve as. Consequentialism says that right or wrong depend on the consequences of an act, and that the more good consequences are produced, the better the act. Here the phrase overall consequences of an action means everything the action brings about, including the action itself. Ethics moore and the naturalistic fallacy britannica. Because utilitarians recognize only the intrinsic value of pleasure or desire satisfaction, the commitment to intrinsic value in environmental ethics has also driven a rather deep wedge between environmental ethics and the ethics of utilitarianism.
Pdf contested frameworks in environmental ethics researchgate. Though, most versions of nonconsequentialism allow some ethical relevance of consequences. I dont think any kind of consequentialism works to ground moral values and i want to offer three initial reasons why. Environmental ethics is the discipline in philosophy that studies the moral relationship of human beings to, and also the value and moral status of, the environment and its nonhuman contents. Evaluative uncertainty, environmental ethics, and consequentialism krister bykvist 8. Corresponding to each of these views about what makes one outcome better than another is a different version of consequentialism. Consequentialism is an ethical theory that judges whether or not something is right by what its consequences are. Utilitarianism is the best approach to environmental.
In his principia ethica 1903, moore argued against what he called the naturalistic fallacy in ethics, by which he meant any attempt to define the word good in terms of some natural qualityi. Not every version of consequentialism is anthropocentric, and as several contributors point out, some or all of the often very strong claims defended by nonanthropocentric thinkers can be expressed in a consequentialist framework. Consequentialism and environmental ethics routledge. In other words, an action is moral if it produces consequences that are seen as beneficial in some sense. Environmental ethics is the discipline in philosophy that studies the. Moral assessments of a persons character or character traits e. Sep 25, 2008 consequentialism says that right or wrong depend on the consequences of an act, and that the more good consequences are produced, the better the act. Consequentialism collects, for the first time, both the main classical sources and the central contemporary expressions of this important position.