This argument is based on a conflation. It assumes that there’s one single thing, “morality”, and this one thing produces not only answers to “what should you do”, but also, what should we condemn, what should we punish, what should one feel guilty about, and other similar questions; and that, moreover, the answers to these questions are identical (or opposites, as appropriate; here the first one would be the opposite of the others).
Yes: consequentialism, deontology, etc, are are different aspects of morality, and even relate to different things...the permissible versus the desirable, etc. Yet they can be reconciled:-
One of the areas of debate about ethics is where the locus of ethical concern is .. whether it lies in persons (an approach known as virtue ethics), rules (deontology) or the consequences of actions (consequentialism). (There are also other axes, such as objectivity versus subjectivity and cognitivism versus non cognitivism). Consider a case where someone dies in an industrial accident , although all rules were followed: if you think the plant manager should be exonerated because he folowed the rules, you are siding with deontology, whereas if you think he should be punished because a death occurred under his supervision, you are siding with consequentialism.
Many people encounter deontology in the form of “ten commandments” style religious law. From a rational perspective, this kind of deontology is unsatisfactory: for one thing, there are multiple competing systems, and it is not clear why any system should be followed, and it is difficult to adapt traditional deontology to new circumstancs. Likewise, virtue ethics suffers from disagreements about what is virtuous.. for instance, the stength-and-independence cluster of virtues versus the kindness-and-cooperation cluster.
To those who are looking for a rational basis for ethics (which includes most of theose seeking to find a motivating basis for ethics), consequentialism is more attractive. A basis in the preferences and values people actually have, which are cognitevely accessible. Being based
on the preferences and values people actually have, goes a considerable way to finding motivation to behave ethically (although there is a considerable wrinkle in blancing “my “preferences against “yours”).. And it is possible to adapt to changing circumstances in terms of the results we would wish to get out of them. These are the advantages of consequentialism.
On the other hand, ethics as it is exists in human societies doesn’t have a strong rational basis. Psyhcological studies show that people’s thinking about ethics is instead intuitive, and often centered on rules and virtues which are taken for granted. However, the arguments for consequentialism so far given don’t add up to arguments for pure consequentialism. The more sophisticated defences of rational ethics can include aspects of deontology and virtue ethics.
The disadvantages of (most forms of) consequentialism include the fact that consequences are impossible to calculate exactly, in general. Secondly,
different individuals, approximating conseqential decision making differently, would lead to lack of coordination. For instance, . Thirdly, it is unreasonable to punish people for consequences of intentional actions whose outcomes they could not forsee. Fourthly, it is unreasonable to punish people for what unintentional actions.
Rules that are commonly agreed, and which lead to (approximately) desireable outcomes, in the consequentialist sense solve all these problems. Firstly, it is possible to memorise a set of rules. Secondly, if everyone follows the same rules, it is possible to co-ordinate. Thirdly,
it is reasonable to punish someone for failing to follow a rule they knew about and knew they should be followed. Fourthly, new rules can be formulated in response to to changing circumstances, since it is possible to choose rules that lead to desirable expected outcomes.
(“Right” and “wrong”, that is praisweorthiness and blameability
are concepts that belong to deontology. A good outcome in the consequentialist sense, one that is a generally desired, is a different
concept from deontological right. Ethics does not have a single subject mtter ..it is about goodness in the sense of desireable ends and goodness in the sense of right behaviour and goodness in the sense of virtue.)
The advantages of consequentialism can still be retained by basing rules on expected consequences. That is very much a compromise, though. A finite and cognitively manageble set of rules can only approximate the case-by-case calculations of an ideal ethical reasoner. But ideal ethical reasoners don’t exist. (But some people reason better than others, even though everyone is obliged to follow the same set of rules...)
The explicit construction of rules is apparent in modern, tenchologically advanced societies,
since such societies face challenges to adapt socially to their technological innovations. Nonetheless, the rules of a more traditional society can be retrospectively seen as gradual adaptations, existing in order to bring about desirable consequences. And inadmuch as ethical rules exist to fulfil a purpose, bringing about desirable consequences, they can be seen as doing so better or worse.
People need to actually be able to act on morality, which is where virtue (in one sense) comes in. Virtue can mean moral fibre, an inner capacity to do what is not in your selfish interest, or , alternatively moral standing or status that rewards people for being moral. Virtue correlates more with reward, deontology more with punishment.
if you think the plant manager should be exonerated because he folowed the rules, you are siding with deontology, whereas if you think he should be punished because a death occurred under his supervision, you are siding with consequentialism
This is missing the point. Consequentialism is about making decisions, not about judging past decisions. Consequentialism says that if punishing the manager would (in expectation) have better consequences than not punishing them, then they should be punished, and otherwise they shouldn’t. Deontology says that if the rules say to punish the manager, they should be punished, and if the rules say not to punish the manager, they shouldn’t be punished.
Yes: consequentialism, deontology, etc, are are different aspects of morality, and even relate to different things...the permissible versus the desirable, etc. Yet they can be reconciled:-
One of the areas of debate about ethics is where the locus of ethical concern is .. whether it lies in persons (an approach known as virtue ethics), rules (deontology) or the consequences of actions (consequentialism). (There are also other axes, such as objectivity versus subjectivity and cognitivism versus non cognitivism). Consider a case where someone dies in an industrial accident , although all rules were followed: if you think the plant manager should be exonerated because he folowed the rules, you are siding with deontology, whereas if you think he should be punished because a death occurred under his supervision, you are siding with consequentialism.
Many people encounter deontology in the form of “ten commandments” style religious law. From a rational perspective, this kind of deontology is unsatisfactory: for one thing, there are multiple competing systems, and it is not clear why any system should be followed, and it is difficult to adapt traditional deontology to new circumstancs. Likewise, virtue ethics suffers from disagreements about what is virtuous.. for instance, the stength-and-independence cluster of virtues versus the kindness-and-cooperation cluster.
To those who are looking for a rational basis for ethics (which includes most of theose seeking to find a motivating basis for ethics), consequentialism is more attractive. A basis in the preferences and values people actually have, which are cognitevely accessible. Being based on the preferences and values people actually have, goes a considerable way to finding motivation to behave ethically (although there is a considerable wrinkle in blancing “my “preferences against “yours”).. And it is possible to adapt to changing circumstances in terms of the results we would wish to get out of them. These are the advantages of consequentialism.
On the other hand, ethics as it is exists in human societies doesn’t have a strong rational basis. Psyhcological studies show that people’s thinking about ethics is instead intuitive, and often centered on rules and virtues which are taken for granted. However, the arguments for consequentialism so far given don’t add up to arguments for pure consequentialism. The more sophisticated defences of rational ethics can include aspects of deontology and virtue ethics.
The disadvantages of (most forms of) consequentialism include the fact that consequences are impossible to calculate exactly, in general. Secondly, different individuals, approximating conseqential decision making differently, would lead to lack of coordination. For instance, . Thirdly, it is unreasonable to punish people for consequences of intentional actions whose outcomes they could not forsee. Fourthly, it is unreasonable to punish people for what unintentional actions.
Rules that are commonly agreed, and which lead to (approximately) desireable outcomes, in the consequentialist sense solve all these problems. Firstly, it is possible to memorise a set of rules. Secondly, if everyone follows the same rules, it is possible to co-ordinate. Thirdly, it is reasonable to punish someone for failing to follow a rule they knew about and knew they should be followed. Fourthly, new rules can be formulated in response to to changing circumstances, since it is possible to choose rules that lead to desirable expected outcomes.
(“Right” and “wrong”, that is praisweorthiness and blameability are concepts that belong to deontology. A good outcome in the consequentialist sense, one that is a generally desired, is a different concept from deontological right. Ethics does not have a single subject mtter ..it is about goodness in the sense of desireable ends and goodness in the sense of right behaviour and goodness in the sense of virtue.)
The advantages of consequentialism can still be retained by basing rules on expected consequences. That is very much a compromise, though. A finite and cognitively manageble set of rules can only approximate the case-by-case calculations of an ideal ethical reasoner. But ideal ethical reasoners don’t exist. (But some people reason better than others, even though everyone is obliged to follow the same set of rules...)
The explicit construction of rules is apparent in modern, tenchologically advanced societies, since such societies face challenges to adapt socially to their technological innovations. Nonetheless, the rules of a more traditional society can be retrospectively seen as gradual adaptations, existing in order to bring about desirable consequences. And inadmuch as ethical rules exist to fulfil a purpose, bringing about desirable consequences, they can be seen as doing so better or worse.
People need to actually be able to act on morality, which is where virtue (in one sense) comes in. Virtue can mean moral fibre, an inner capacity to do what is not in your selfish interest, or , alternatively moral standing or status that rewards people for being moral. Virtue correlates more with reward, deontology more with punishment.
This is missing the point. Consequentialism is about making decisions, not about judging past decisions. Consequentialism says that if punishing the manager would (in expectation) have better consequences than not punishing them, then they should be punished, and otherwise they shouldn’t. Deontology says that if the rules say to punish the manager, they should be punished, and if the rules say not to punish the manager, they shouldn’t be punished.