Hayward, M.K. orcid.org/0000-0003-4077-2673 (2024) III—Doing our ‘best’? Utilitarianism, rationality and the altruist’s dilemma. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 124 (1). pp. 49-70. ISSN 0066-7374
Abstract
Utilitarians think that what matters in ethics is making the world a better place. In that case, it might seem that we each rationally ought to do our best—perform the actions, out of those open to each of us, with the best expected outcomes. In other words, we should follow act-utilitarian reasons. But often the result of many altruistic agents following such individualistic reasons is worse than the result of them following collectivist ‘team-reasons’. So utilitarians should reject act utilitarianism, and accept a dualist view according to which both individualistic and team reasons are fundamental. In order to align these distinct kinds of reason, utilitarians must focus centrally on questions of political and social reform—as did their historical forebears.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Aristotelian Society. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Philosophy; Philosophy and Religious Studies |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Sheffield) > Department of Philosophy (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 05 Aug 2024 10:22 |
Last Modified: | 27 Mar 2025 01:13 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press (OUP) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/arisoc/aoae001 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:215673 |