New Wave Consequentialism. An Introduction
Abstract
Consequentialism is a focal point of discussion in moral philosophy, although it is unclear what, exactly, consequentialism is. Taking seriously the idea that “consequentialism” is a term of art in moral theorizing that has been shaped in response to objections against utilitarianism, this chapter retraces the debate on consequentialism in section 1.1. It shows that (a) a trend to design consequentialist theories at increasingly higher levels of abstraction has triggered an emerging new wave consequentialism which is extremely flexible and characteristically associated with a “resort to abstraction” and a “turn to reasons”; and that (b) the concept of consequentialism itself has become increasingly general by incremental conceptual emancipations from certain characteristic marks. Section 1.2 explains the structure of the volume, summarizes the essays, and outlines the relation between them. By identifying emerging topics for further exploration, section 1.3 provides a brief outlook on the prospects of new wave consequentialism.
