This is a

This is philosophy bites with me David Edmonds

And me Nigel Warton.

Philosophy bites is available at

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philosophy bites.

Com The end justifies the means is a common phrase. Behind it lies a moral theory, namely

that consequences determine the morality of an action. In moral philosophy, this general approach is known as consequentialism.

It's often cashed out in terms of the balance of happiness that will result from

doing or refraining from something. For example, will this lie, on balance, maximize happiness?

Consequentialism is contrasted with a theory that claims that we have duties and obligations, say duty not to lie regardless of the consequences.

Professor Brad Hooker of Reading University is a leading exponent of consequentialism. Brad Hooker, welcome to Philosophy Bites.

Hello, I'm glad to be here.

Now you've written extensively on the topic of consequentialism.

Could you just explain to a general listener what

consequentialism is? Consequentialism is really a family of moral theories. These

theories evaluate either acts, rules, or social institutions by their consequences.

And there are quite vicious fights amongst consequentialists over which is the best version.

Okay, so what you're saying is a theory like utilitarianism which aims to maximize happiness

in its simplest form is consequentialist because it assesses the consequences of acts in terms

of their happiness or their tendency to produce pain or pleasure.

Yeah? Exactly, that's exactly right.

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