Is Norcross Right about Right?
Abstract In Morality by Degrees , Alastair Norcross defends a view he calls “scalar consequentialism.” I argue, first, that Norcross does not use the term consistently, since in most passages this seems to refer to a version of consequentialism that rejects all claims about rightness altogether, yet in other passages Norcross claims that scalar consequentialists should nonetheless embrace his favored “contextualist” account of rightness. I also argue, second, that the particular arguments offered by Norcross as to why consequentialists should forgo more traditional consequentialist accounts of rightness (such as maximizing or satisficing) are unpersuasive.
Authors
- Shelly Kagan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0928-2353)
Institutions
- Yale University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Utilitas
- Published
- 2025-02-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0953820824000268
- Primary Topic
- European and International Law Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00