There are more than enough arguments as to the implausibility of consequentialism. Something like serves merely to illustrate it; to work at the rhetorical level. And it does it very well.
Colin McGinn
5 years ago
It simply takes hedonic maximization to the logical limit. Or not quite: what about a duty to improve as many people’s bad mood as possible?
Why maximizing good consequences is not a sound morality.
I think this is more of an example about how to be a bad consequentialist, not that consequentialism is implausible.
There are more than enough arguments as to the implausibility of consequentialism. Something like serves merely to illustrate it; to work at the rhetorical level. And it does it very well.
It simply takes hedonic maximization to the logical limit. Or not quite: what about a duty to improve as many people’s bad mood as possible?
But the characters are being unrealistic about how to most effectively promote untility, aren’t they?
Terrific. And spot-on.