Ethical Theory and the Problem of Inconsequentialism: Why Environmental Ethicists Should be Virtue-Oriented Ethicists
Ethical Theory and the Problem of Inconsequentialism: Why Environmental Ethicists Should be Virtue-Oriented Ethicists
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伦理理论与无关紧要主义问题：为什么环境伦理学家应该是德性导向的伦理学家
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发表时间：
2010
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通讯作者：
R. Sandler
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作者：
R. Sandler
许多环境问题是纵向的集体行动问题。它们源于彼此不认识、彼此疏远的个人做出的大量看似微不足道的决定和行动所累积的意想不到的影响。这些问题可能只有通过大量的个人才能有效地解决，每个人对解决这些问题的贡献几乎微不足道。然而，当一个人做出这样的贡献似乎需要牺牲或成本时，就出现了不后果主义的问题：考虑到一个人的贡献，尽管需要（尽管不是必要的），对解决问题几乎是无关紧要的，而且从人自己的生命的角度来看可能需要一些代价，为什么这个人要做出努力，特别是在不确定（甚至不太可能）其他国家是否会这样做的情况下？在这篇文章中，我认为，作出努力，以应对纵向集体行动的环境问题的理由，在整体上，特别是良好的支持以美德为导向的规范性理论，在此基础上，性格特征的评价为美德和恶习必然或目的论和行动的美德和恶习进行评估。如果伦理学理论要根据其理论和实践的充分性来评估，并且如果对非结果主义问题提供令人信服的回应是这种充分性的一个例子，那么这就是为什么我们更喜欢以美德为导向的伦理学理论，而不是以非美德为导向的伦理学理论，如康德的，行为功利主义和全球功利主义理论。
Many environmental problems are longitudinal collective action problems. They arise from the cumulative unintended effects of a vast amount of seemingly insignificant decisions and actions by individuals who are unknown to each other and distant from each other. Such problems are likely to be effectively addressed only by an enormous number of individuals each making a nearly insignificant contribution to resolving them. However, when a person’s making such a contribution appears to require sacrifice or costs, the problem of inconsequentialism arises: given that a person’s contribution, although needed (albeit not necessary), is nearly inconsequential to addressing the problem and may require some cost from the standpoint of the person’s own life, why should the person make the effort, particularly when it is uncertain (or even unlikely) whether others will do so? In this article I argue that justifications for making the effort to respond to longitudinal collective action environmental problems are, on the whole, particularly well supported by virtue-oriented normative theories, on which character traits are evaluated as virtues and vices consequentially or teleologically and actions are evaluated in terms of virtues and vices. If ethical theories are to be assessed on their theoretical and practical adequacy, and if providing a compelling response to the problem of inconsequentialism is an instance of such adequacy, then this is a reason for preferring virtue-oriented ethical theory over non-virtue-oriented ethical theories, such as Kantian, act utilitarian, and global utilitarian theories.