Consequentialism doesn’t require a commitment to maximization of any particular variable. It’s the claim that only the consequences of actions are relevant to moral evaluation of the actions. I think that’s a weak enough claim that you can’t really call it a general moral principle. So one could believe that only consequences are morally relevant, but the way in which one evaluates actions based on their consequences does not conform to any general principle.
If Luke had said that he’s a utilitarian who is also a particularist, that would have been a contradiction.
I think that’s a weak enough claim that you can’t really call it a general moral principle.
That’s a good point. So I should take from Luke’s claim that he does not believe one should (as a moral rule) maximise expected utility, or anything like that? And that he would say that it’s possible (if perhaps unlikely) for an action to be good even if it minimizes expected utility?
Consequentialism doesn’t require a commitment to maximization of any particular variable. It’s the claim that only the consequences of actions are relevant to moral evaluation of the actions. I think that’s a weak enough claim that you can’t really call it a general moral principle. So one could believe that only consequences are morally relevant, but the way in which one evaluates actions based on their consequences does not conform to any general principle.
If Luke had said that he’s a utilitarian who is also a particularist, that would have been a contradiction.
That’s a good point. So I should take from Luke’s claim that he does not believe one should (as a moral rule) maximise expected utility, or anything like that? And that he would say that it’s possible (if perhaps unlikely) for an action to be good even if it minimizes expected utility?
I probably shouldn’t speak for Luke, but I’m guessing the answer to this is yes. If it isn’t, then I don’t understand how he’s a particularist.
I don’t see why he should be committed to this claim.