Consequentialism and the demandingness objection

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dc.contributor.authorHeikkinen, Jeffrey W
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeJenkins, Joyce (Philosophy) Ogrodnick, Margaret (Political Studies)en
dc.contributor.supervisorShaver, Robert (Philosophy)en
dc.date.accessioned2008-01-16
dc.date.available2008-01-16
dc.date.issued2008-01-16
dc.degree.disciplinePhilosophyen_US
dc.degree.levelMaster of Arts (M.A.)en_US
dc.description.abstractDemandingness-based objections to utilitarianism and other consequentialist moral theories constitute the most important problem facing moral philosophers today. In this Thesis, I offer an explanation of what makes the demandingness objection compelling, namely, that utilitarianism alienates us from the projects and goals that define us as individual human beings (normally taken to be a separate objection). This suggests that solving the problems demandingness considerations present involves carving out a space for these projects and goals alongside the demands of a consequentialist morality; thus, we have two nearly independent sources of normative reasons, and the real question is how they interact. Various suggestions for answering this question are considered and rejected. I also discuss how Alastair Norcross’ scalar utilitarianism “solves” the demandingness problem, what the costs of this solution are, and how it might be integrated into a theory concerning the aforementioned interaction.en
dc.description.noteFebruary 2008en
dc.format.extent912981 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1993/2986
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsopen accessen_US
dc.subjectConsequentialismen
dc.subjectUtilitarianismen
dc.subjectEthicsen
dc.subjectMoral Philosophyen
dc.subjectAlastair Norcrossen
dc.subjectSamuel Scheffleren
dc.subjectMoral Demandsen
dc.subjectAlienationen
dc.titleConsequentialism and the demandingness objectionen
dc.typemaster thesisen_US
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