Consequentialism or Justice Essay Example
Consequentialism or Justice
Every action has a consequence. Consequentialists believe that the level of good from that consequence determines the level of good of the action. To determine ethically who these actions are good for and which actions and decisions are important morally to the individual. Utilitarianism, what is morally good, plays a large role in determining this by achieving a greater good for everyone versus an individual greater good. Deciding what to do is the main point of moral assessment of acts. Consequentialism has three components to the theory: what makes acts morally wrong, procedure to make moral decisions, and the conditions that moral sanctions such as guilt and praise are appropriate (Hooker, 2011).
History
Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism defined as a goal-directed theory that elaborates a sense of happiness as a result of performing a positive human action. The purpose of looking into these theories is to understand why humans act upon such actions, and the intent behind it. Consequentialism developed many centuries ago when Hermes and Socrates agreed there needs to be some form of social justice (Freeman, 2000). This endowment from Hermes has provided human beings with the most arguable task, the task of establishing social justice (Freeman, 2000). George Berkeley was one of the first rule-consequentialist and stated in creating the general laws one must be guided by good of humankind and not the everyday moral actions (Hooker, 2011). “Having a sense of justice or fairness has proven to be one thing; knowing the process and how to make it work have proven elusive (Plato, trans. 1977, pp. 757–758)” (Freeman, 2000, p. 53). A solution to this vagueness is a determination of which claims of utilitarianism are essential to consequentialism (Sinnott-Armstrong, 2011).
Major Elements of Theory There are many major elements to consequentialism and justice. Consequentialism includes theories such as ethical egoism,
Every action has a consequence. Consequentialists believe that the level of good from that consequence determines the level of good of the action. To determine ethically who these actions are good for and which actions and decisions are important morally to the individual. Utilitarianism, what is morally good, plays a large role in determining this by achieving a greater good for everyone versus an individual greater good. Deciding what to do is the main point of moral assessment of acts. Consequentialism has three components to the theory: what makes acts morally wrong, procedure to make moral decisions, and the conditions that moral sanctions such as guilt and praise are appropriate (Hooker, 2011).
History
Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism defined as a goal-directed theory that elaborates a sense of happiness as a result of performing a positive human action. The purpose of looking into these theories is to understand why humans act upon such actions, and the intent behind it. Consequentialism developed many centuries ago when Hermes and Socrates agreed there needs to be some form of social justice (Freeman, 2000). This endowment from Hermes has provided human beings with the most arguable task, the task of establishing social justice (Freeman, 2000). George Berkeley was one of the first rule-consequentialist and stated in creating the general laws one must be guided by good of humankind and not the everyday moral actions (Hooker, 2011). “Having a sense of justice or fairness has proven to be one thing; knowing the process and how to make it work have proven elusive (Plato, trans. 1977, pp. 757–758)” (Freeman, 2000, p. 53). A solution to this vagueness is a determination of which claims of utilitarianism are essential to consequentialism (Sinnott-Armstrong, 2011).
Major Elements of Theory There are many major elements to consequentialism and justice. Consequentialism includes theories such as ethical egoism,