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Consequentialist Ethical Theories Egoism: the good is whatever promotes my long-term interests Epicurus 341-270 BCE Hedonism: the good is pleasure Pursue pleasures not mixed with pain (beauty, prudence, honor, justice, courage, knowledge); satisfy natural desires (food, sleep), avoid vain desires (fame, fashion) Self-realization: develop harmoniously all our capacities (Plato, Aristotle, Bradley) Objections to Egoism Egoism cannot resolve conflicts of interest (which moral theories should do) Egoism allows for no “moral point of view” of an ideal, impartial, informed observer who identifies with those in the situation Reply: no one is completely impartial, nor should moral decisions be dispassionate Utilitarianism: we ought to promote the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number J. Bentham (1748-1843) J. S. Mill (1808-73) Bentham: the hedonic calculus is based on the intensity, duration, certainty, immediacy, fecundity, purity, & number of people affected J. S. Mill: the quality of pleasures needs to be considered, determined by competent judges Objections: this is elitist; why not use the criterion for evaluating pleasures to judge morality itself? Variations of Utilitarianism Act utilitarianism: we are obligated to do the specific act that produces the greatest amount of happiness (regardless of rules or justice) Objections: • consequence calculation is difficult • this implies that the end justifies the means Rule utilitarianism: we should follow moral rules that, when acted upon, generally produce the greatest amount of happiness Objections: • what about when rules conflict? • in some cases, why not exceptions? Reply: then why have any theory at all?