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Chapter Seven: Consequentialist Complications: Sacrificing
One for the Many
Learning Objectives of Chapter Seven
2. Explain the fairness objection.
4. Evaluate negative responsibility as a response to attacks on consequentialism.
5. Recall the major retorts to criticisms of consequentialism.
SUMMARY: Chapter Seven lays out the Trolley Problem and the Hospital Case as
moral quandaries that address the problems with consequentialism generally and
utilitarianism specifically. The chapter navigates the main criticisms and retorts to
A Trolley Problem and a Hospital Case: Two Difficulties for Utilitarianism
The Trolley Problem asks whether it is moral for a person to sacrifice a life to save
healthy person to save multiple sick people could be moral. Addresses two problems
with utilitarianism:
Utilitarianism sacrifices the one for the many without additional justification.
Utilitarianism cannot make sense of the moral difference we perceive between
the Hospital Case and the Trolley Case.
Fairness and Welfarist Consequentialism
The Pareto criterion does not answer either question, because it is too general and
blind to unfairness. (ex. Plasma International)
Fairness Objection: Even though actions are Pareto-improving, a company can take
an unfair share of the gains.
Negative Responsibility: Doing Versus Allowing
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The outcome with unfair gains is better than the status quo ante, although the action
can still be morally blameworthy.
Criticism of consequentialism:
The good consequences of profit maximization do not create a duty to pursue
those profits.
Directed Obligations
Consequentialism cannot make sense of the moral value of integrity, or taking
special responsibility for our actions and how they relate to others. Instead,
consequentialism looks forward only to consequences.
Other backward-looking reasoning are the duty to compensate people who have been
wronged and the duty to remain loyal to others joined in a project.
Consequentialist Retorts
Denial that consequentialism really entails uncomfortable conclusions (i.e.
integrity and fairness always produce better outcomes)
Indoctrination into a moral code does not make it right.
Rule-consequentialism instead of act-consequentialism
o The goodness of consequences is the only source of right and wrong.
o Applies to practices or rules of behavior instead of individual actions