TELEOLOGY.\u00a0This\u00a0also\u00a0comes\u00a0from\u00a0a\u00a0Greek\u00a0word,\u00a0telos,\u00a0meaning\u00a0\u201cpurpose\u201d or \u201cend.\u201d Teleology (or consequentialism, as it is\u00a0often called) asserts that no act is right or wrong in and of itself, but that its rightness or wrongness depends on the goodness or badness of the consequences it brings.<\/p>\n
In other\u00a0words, if you get a good outcome, you did the \u201cright\u201d thing.<\/p>\n
If you get a bad outcome, you did the \u201cwrong\u201d thing.\u00a0\u00a0One of the more prevalent forms of teleology is called\u00a0\u201cact-utilitarianism.\u201d If you had to summarize it in one sentence, it would say, \u201cAct in such a way as to produce the greatest good for the greatest number.\u201d On this view, Robin Hood\u00a0is certainly justified in stealing from the rich to give to the\u00a0poor.<\/p>\n
After all, there are so many more poor than rich! Many\u00a0more people will be benefited than will be inconvenienced by\u00a0Robin\u2019s \u201credistribution\u201d of wealth. According to act-\u00a0utilitarianism, this is a good outcome. So Robin is right to\u00a0steal.<\/p>\n
Teleology\u2019s main strength is its open-mindedness. It does\u00a0not approve or reject any action out of hand, but awaits the\u00a0outcome before pronouncing judgment.<\/p>\n
But this is also one\u00a0of its main weaknesses: almost any action, no matter how\u00a0heinous, can be justified by an appeal to its consequences.\u00a0For instance, act-utilitarianism could be used to justify lynching people suspected of crimes, instead of giving them fair trials. After all, the lynch mob is happy with its behavior, even if\u00a0the one who gets lynched is not. If happiness is good, then\u00a0lynching is an example of \u201cthe greatest good for the greatest\u00a0number,\u201d and therefore justifiable by act-utilitarianism.<\/p>\n
But\u00a0using act-utilitarianism this way fails to take into account the\u00a0greatest suffering of the smallest number, and therefore allows a majority to ignore the rights of a minority. When a\u00a0group\u2019s sentiments overrules an individual\u2019s rights, injustice\u00a0is rarely far behind.<\/p>\n
Teleology has other weaknesses too. It presupposes that\u00a0we know how to measure the \u201cgoodness\u201d or \u201cbadness\u201d of\u00a0outcomes, as if they were so much meat or so many vegetables on a scale.<\/p>\n
In fact, no one has a clue how to measure\u00a0good or bad. So if there can be no universal agreement as to\u00a0whether a given outcome is good or bad, there can be no\u00a0agreement as to whether the act that produced it is right or\u00a0wrong.<\/p>\n
There can only be a self-justifying consensus, which\u00a0could be abused to support even great evil.<\/p>\n
So Robin needs to be careful justifying his actions with\u00a0teleology.<\/p>\n
Thinking about the consequences of one\u2019s deeds is\u00a0important, but ends are never independent of the means used\u00a0to attain them.<\/p>\n
The ends and means are a seamless web.
\n\u2013 GLORIA STEINEM<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Big Questions: How Philosophy Can Change Your Life<\/strong><\/em> TELEOLOGY.\u00a0This\u00a0also\u00a0comes\u00a0from\u00a0a\u00a0Greek\u00a0word,\u00a0telos,\u00a0meaning\u00a0\u201cpurpose\u201d or \u201cend.\u201d Teleology (or consequentialism, as it is\u00a0often called) asserts that no act is right or wrong in and of itself, but that its rightness or wrongness depends on the goodness or badness of the consequences it brings. In other\u00a0words, if you get a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27919,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1","rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg",900,609,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg",900,609,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?fit=300%2C203&ssl=1",300,203,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,true],"portfolio-square":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?resize=570%2C570&ssl=1",570,570,true],"portfolio-portrait":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?resize=600%2C609&ssl=1",600,609,true],"portfolio-landscape":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?resize=800%2C600&ssl=1",800,600,true],"menu-featured-post":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?resize=345%2C198&ssl=1",345,198,true],"qode-carousel_slider":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?resize=400%2C260&ssl=1",400,260,true],"portfolio_slider":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?resize=500%2C380&ssl=1",500,380,true],"portfolio_masonry_regular":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?resize=500%2C500&ssl=1",500,500,true],"portfolio_masonry_wide":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?resize=900%2C500&ssl=1",900,500,true],"portfolio_masonry_tall":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?resize=500%2C609&ssl=1",500,609,true],"portfolio_masonry_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?resize=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,true],"portfolio_masonry_with_space":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?fit=700%2C474&ssl=1",700,474,true],"latest_post_boxes":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?resize=539%2C303&ssl=1",539,303,true],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1",300,300,true],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?fit=600%2C406&ssl=1",600,406,true],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/post-1450.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1",100,100,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/author\/admin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Philosophy<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"TELEOLOGY.\u00a0This\u00a0also\u00a0comes\u00a0from\u00a0a\u00a0Greek\u00a0word,\u00a0telos,\u00a0meaning\u00a0\u201cpurpose\u201d or \u201cend.\u201d Teleology (or consequentialism, as it is\u00a0often called) asserts that no act is right or wrong in and of itself, but that its rightness or wrongness depends on the goodness or badness of the consequences it brings. In other\u00a0words, if you get a...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30587"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30587"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30588,"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30587\/revisions\/30588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nLou Marinoff<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"