Consequentialism and its critics / edited by Samuel Scheffler.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Scheffler, Samuel, 1951-

Series:

Oxford readings in philosophy

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Consequentialism (Ethics).

Physical Description:

vi, 294 pages ; 21 cm.

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1988.

Summary:

Consequentialism, a moral doctrine that asserts that the right act in any given situation is the one that will produce the best overall outcome, as judged from an impersonal standpoint that gives equal weight to all interests, has been criticized on the grounds that it fails to capture the most crucial features of moral thinking and cannot, when worked out in detail, provide an adequate account of morality. In this anthology, distinguished scholars--Thomas Nagel, T. M. Scanlon, John Rawls, Robert Nozick, Samuel Scheffler, Conrad D. Johnson, Bernard Williams, Peter Railton, Amartya Sen, Philippa Foot, and Derek Parfit--debate arguments for and against consequentialism to present a complete view of this significant area in moral philosophy.

Contents:

Classical utilitarianism / by John Rawls

Consequentialism and integrity / by Bernard Williams

War and massacre / by Thomas Nagel

Rights, goals, and fairness / by T.M. Scanlon

Alienation, consequentialism, and the demands of morality / by Peter Railton

Side constraints / by Robert Nozick

Autonomy and deontology / by Thomas Nagel

Is common-sense morality self-defeating? / by Derek Parfit

Rights and agency / by Amartya Sen

Utilitarianism and the virtues / by Philippa Foot

Agency-centred restrictions, rationality, and the virtues / by Samuel Scheffler

The authority of the moral agent / by Conrad D. Johnson.

Notes:

Bibliography: pages [289]-292.

Includes index.

ISBN:

0198750889 :

0198750730

OCLC:

16580929