consequentialism, deontology Flashcards
consequentialism
good prior to right
too permissive
deontology
right is prior to good
too restrictive
transplant case, trolley case, difference
kill healthy patient for organs to save 5, compared to runaway trolley (push lever to move trolley so it runs over worker but not 5 workers). Diff is that in 1st, taking purposefully w intent to kill and using the person, in 2nd, the death is a byproduct of a good act (no intent to kill, person is not being used- it wouldn’t matter if they were there or not).
to avoid probs w consequentialism
“does that mean?” leads to rule consequantilism, softer version. Doesn’t allow for EVEYRTHING so long as cons. are good, but chooses rules that generally lead to good consequences (don’t kill generally leads to good cons) but sometimes you may break the rules.
to avoid probs w deontology
“but what if?” leads to threshold deontology. When there are SUCH enormous bad consequences, you may break the rules (even though it’s inconsistent reasoning)
modern example(s) of debate between cons. and deon.
“good” dictator who can quickly make large scale changes that will likely prevent or even reverse climate change, BUT takes away ppls rights of autonomy and freedom. Or, duty to not torture others to get information compared to possible abililty to get important info that will help/save many lives.