Preferential Utilitarianism
The preference utilitarianism , even Interessenutilitarismus or economic utilitarianism , is a modern variant of utilitarianism , which mainly by Australian philosopher Peter Singer has been developed.
If in hedonistic action utilitarianism the moral value of an action is measured by the extent to which it generally minimizes suffering (pain) or maximizes joy (pleasure), preference utilitarianism takes the consideration of the preferences of all beings concerned as a yardstick for an action and its effects judge. The term preference denotes the general rational and emotional interests of a being (for example, the basic rational life interest as it is with all individuals ) and is not limited to the current and context-dependent interests that exist at the time of the action.
So if the effect of an action coincides with all of the present preferences, the action is morally good. Otherwise, the agent must necessarily find a balance, for example, by taking another act to correspond to the preferences disregarded before to an increased extent.
Disregarding the preference of one person is usually more serious than it is with other beings (especially with regard to the killing, which can never be compensated for), because people see themselves as entities separated from their environment and their interests are longer-term and far more complex.
“Killing a person usually means [...] violating not just one, but a multitude of the central and most important preferences that a being can have. Very often everything that the victim tried to do in the past few days, months or even years is reduced to absurdity. "
The term person here includes all self-conscious beings, regardless of the species . Singer means, for example, adult humans and great apes, provided there is no mental impairment.
See also
literature
- Peter Singer: Practical Ethics . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1979; 2nd edition, 1993; 3rd edition, 2011, ISBN 978-0-521-70768-8 .
- German: practical ethics. 2nd Edition. Reclam, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-15-008033-9 ; 3rd edition 2013, ISBN 3-15-018919-5 .
Web link
Individual evidence
From practical ethics, 2nd edition. Reclam :
- ^ Singer: Practical Ethics , p. 120
- ^ Singer: Practical Ethics , p. 129