COMM 2273 Lecture Notes - Lecture 71: Modernism, Aristotelian Society, Deontological Ethics
10 Feb 2020
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First, utilitarianism is incoherent because it requires that you know the actual consequences of acts never performed to compare with the actual consequences of ones performed. But if an act was never performed it has no actual consequences, so no comparison or teleological judgment can be made. Second, we can never accurately predict the results of our actions. Every action will have its own effect, which will have its own effect, creating an infinite cycle of results. Thus, it is by its very nature impossible to analyze the ends of actions because human reasoning is only finite but the consequence of each action is infinite. This paralyzes action because to accurately determine action we have to constantly use resources to predict the future. Even if we agree on benefits, we"ll disagree about the relative value of things. Fourth, utilitarianism reduces to absurdity because it legitimates systemic violence against other human beings.
