Shafer-Landau argues
that the notion of impartiality is both good and bad for the theory of utilitarianism
. As Shafer-Landau argues, it seems right that we favor those closest to us over those that we do not know. … Any sort of action can be morally right as long as the outcome is optimific.
What does Shafer-Landau suggest that virtue theorists would say about rule based ethics?
In this excerpt Shafer-Landau critiques virtue ethics, arguing that virtue ethics and
the divine command theory share a basic structure and thus the same weakness
. … Virtuous people either have, or don’t have, good reasons for their actions. If they don’t have good reasons, their actions are arbitrary.
What is morality Shafer-Landau?
Russ Shafer-Landau argues that
there are moral principles that are true independently of what anyone, anywhere, happens to think of them
. His central thesis, as well as the many novel supporting arguments used to defend it, will spark much controversy among those concerned with the foundations of ethics.
What do rule consequentialists demand when breaking a moral rule would yield better results?
How can rule consequentialism say that certain actions are forbidden, even if they sometimes achieve very good results? … By claiming that rule consequentialists demand us
to obey moral rules
, even when we know that breaking them would yield better results.
What is the attitude of most consequentialists toward rule consequentialism?
What is the attitude of most consequentialists toward rule consequentialism? a.
It is an improvement over other versions of consequentialism.
What is a moral property?
The semantic thesis: The primary semantic role of moral predicates (such as “right” and “wrong”) is to refer to moral properties (such as
rightness
and wrongness), so that moral statements (such as “honesty is good” and “slavery is unjust”) purport to represent moral facts, and express propositions that are true or …
Is utilitarianism a philosophy?
Utilitarianism is
a tradition of ethical philosophy
that is associated with Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, two late 18th- and 19th-century British philosophers, economists, and political thinkers.
What is the basic structure common to virtue ethics and divine command theory?
Virtue ethics and the Divine command Theory share a
basic structure and a basic weakness
. Virtuous people either have or don’t have, good reasons for their actions. … If they do have good reasons to support their actions, then these reasons, and not the actions themselves, determine what is right ans what is wrong.
Why is utilitarianism bad?
Perhaps the greatest difficulty with utilitarianism is that
it fails to take into account considerations of justice
. … Given its insistence on summing the benefits and harms of all people, utilitarianism asks us to look beyond self-interest to consider impartially the interests of all persons affected by our actions.
What is meant by the greatest good for the greatest number?
A goal put forth for governments:
that they should be judged by the results of their policies
, and specifically, whether those policies benefit the majority. (Compare greatest happiness for the greatest number.)
What is a good example of utilitarianism?
When individuals are deciding what to do for themselves alone, they consider only their own utility. For example, if you are choosing
ice cream for yourself
, the utilitarian view is that you should choose the flavor that will give you the most pleasure.
What do most utilitarians believe determines the morality of actions?
The actual consequences of the action. What determines the morality of the intentions behind one’s actions, according to utilitarianism?
The expected consequences of the action
. … Moral rules can be helpful but can be broken if doing so is optimific.
What is the impact of consequentialism?
Consequentialism: results-
based ethics
Of all the things a person might do at any given moment, the morally right action is the one with the best overall consequences. Consequentialism is based on two principles: Whether an act is right or wrong depends only on the results of that act.
What attitude do most utilitarians take toward nonhuman animals?
What attitude do most utilitarians take toward non-human animals?
If an animal suffers to the same extent as a human, the animal’s suffering is equally important
. producing the best possible results.
What is the difference between moral Judgement and moral realism?
Moral realists
hold there really are moral properties and facts that exist in the world independently of our judgements
of them. So, when we judge that Lucy ought to pay back the money she borrowed, this judgment is actually true or false. Moral anti-realists deny that such properties and facts exist.
Is moral realism the same as moral objectivism?
Moral Realism (or Moral Objectivism) is the
meta-ethical view
(see the section on Ethics) that there exist such things as moral facts and moral values, and that these are objective and independent of our perception of them or our beliefs, feelings or other attitudes towards them.
