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Collective Consequentialism

Rosenqvist, Simon LU (2012) FPRM10 20122
Practical Philosophy
Abstract
Any plausible consequentialist theory should fulfill the following intuitions: (a) if an agent satisfies the theory she should produce the best possible consequences she can in that situation, (b) if all agents satisfy the theory they should produce the best possible consequences as a group, and (c) all agents should, in fact, be able to satisfy the theory. This thesis shows that while act-, rule- and cooperative consequentialism each fails to fulfill at least one of these intuitions, generalized act-consequentialism is successful by directing itself to both collective and individual agents. It is further argued that these collectives act only in a weak sense, according to which they need not have the ability to act intentionally, or to... (More)
Any plausible consequentialist theory should fulfill the following intuitions: (a) if an agent satisfies the theory she should produce the best possible consequences she can in that situation, (b) if all agents satisfy the theory they should produce the best possible consequences as a group, and (c) all agents should, in fact, be able to satisfy the theory. This thesis shows that while act-, rule- and cooperative consequentialism each fails to fulfill at least one of these intuitions, generalized act-consequentialism is successful by directing itself to both collective and individual agents. It is further argued that these collectives act only in a weak sense, according to which they need not have the ability to act intentionally, or to entertain beliefs or desires. This opens up the possibility for a new theory, collective consequentialism, which directs itself only to the collective agent constituted by all other agents. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Rosenqvist, Simon LU
supervisor
organization
course
FPRM10 20122
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
collective agency., cooperation, coordination, Consequentialism
language
English
id
3327724
date added to LUP
2013-01-24 13:37:59
date last changed
2013-01-24 13:37:59
@misc{3327724,
  abstract     = {{Any plausible consequentialist theory should fulfill the following intuitions: (a) if an agent satisfies the theory she should produce the best possible consequences she can in that situation, (b) if all agents satisfy the theory they should produce the best possible consequences as a group, and (c) all agents should, in fact, be able to satisfy the theory. This thesis shows that while act-, rule- and cooperative consequentialism each fails to fulfill at least one of these intuitions, generalized act-consequentialism is successful by directing itself to both collective and individual agents. It is further argued that these collectives act only in a weak sense, according to which they need not have the ability to act intentionally, or to entertain beliefs or desires. This opens up the possibility for a new theory, collective consequentialism, which directs itself only to the collective agent constituted by all other agents.}},
  author       = {{Rosenqvist, Simon}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Collective Consequentialism}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}