Premium
Reasons for Rule Consequentialists
Author(s) -
Woodard Christopher
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
ratio
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.475
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1467-9329
pISSN - 0034-0006
DOI - 10.1111/rati.12352
Subject(s) - consequentialism , normative , ideal (ethics) , epistemology , action (physics) , sort , face (sociological concept) , code (set theory) , computer science , law and economics , sociology , philosophy , social science , physics , set (abstract data type) , quantum mechanics , information retrieval , programming language
This paper explores what a Rule Consequentialist of Brad Hooker's sort can and should say about normative reasons for action. I claim that they can provide a theory of reasons, but that doing so requires distinguishing different roles of rules in the ideal code. Some rules in the ideal code specify reasons, while others perform different functions. The paper also discusses a choice that Rule Consequentialists face about how exactly to specify reasons. It ends by comparing the theory of reasons offered by Rule Consequentialism with the theory offered by Act Consequentialism, noting that Rule Consequentialism seems better able to explain moral constraints.