Five Elements of Normative Ethics - A General Theory of Normative Individualism

Bibliographic Data

ID8115779
AuthorsDietmar Von Der Pfordten (0000-0002-2188-519X, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume15
Issue4
Pages449-471
Publication date2011-07-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEthical Theory and Moral Practice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1386-2820 • E-ISSN: 1572-8447
PublisherSpringer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1007/s10677-011-9299-2
OpenAlexW2007569027
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited19

The article tries to inquire a third way in normative ethics between consequentialism or utilitarianism and deontology or Kantianism. To find such a third way in normative ethics, one has to analyze the elements of these classical theories and to look if they are justified. In this article it is argued that an adequate normative ethics has to contain the following five elements: (1) normative individualism, i. e., the view that in the last instance moral norms and values can only be justified by reference to the individuals concerned, as its basis; (2) consideration of the individuals’ concerns and interests—aims, desires, needs, strivings—insofar as they have a justificatory function; (3) a pluralism of references of these concerns and hence of moral norms and values to all possible elements of actions; (4) the necessity of a principle of aggregation and weighing with regard to these concerns; (5) finally, as a central principle of aggregation and weighing, the principle of relative reference to self and others, operating as a generalizing meta-principle that guides the application of concrete principles and decisions

Consequentialism · Deontological ethics · Epistemology · Individualism · Information ethics · Meta-ethics · Normative · Normative ethics · Philosophy of medicine · Pluralism (philosophy · Political science · Sociology · Utilitarianism · Free Will and Agency · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Political Philosophy and Ethics · Law · Philosophy

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