Rule consequentialism Flashcards
What do rule consequentialists believe?
That morality is properly understood as a system of rules
What do rule consequentialists ask?
What would the consequence be of a world where everyone accepted a rule
To what is consequentialism best applied to?
Moral principles/rules of conduct
Rather than the question ‘ought I to do’ the question becomes…
‘Should we adopt a rule permitting’
In rule consequentialism they consider whether…
Would everyone accepting this rule make the world better/worse
Objection of informational requirements?
How can we tell with certainty whether any rule, if followed by everyone would make things go best
What is Mill’s position on rule consequentialism?
What if violating the rules would make things go best? If we take rule consequentialism to have an overriding commitment to maximise the good, then rule consequentialism starts to look wrong
Why does rule consequentialism look incoherent?
There is an overriding commitment to making things go best but some acts that are morally required fail to make things go best
Does rule consequentialism have an overriding commitment to maximising the good?
No
What are the two claims of rule consequentialism?
That rules are to be selected solely in terms of their consequences and that these rules determine which kinds of acts are morally wrong
Rule consequentialists have no…
Overriding moral commitment to make things go best
The mere fact that an act makes things go best provides…
No reason to think it is the morally right thing to do
