Consequentialism

References and further reading

	Anscombe, G.E.M. (1958) ‘Modern Moral Philosophy’, Philosophy 33: 1–19. ( A vigorous rebuttal, among other things, of what she saw as the pervasive strand of consequentialism in English moral philosophy.)
	Aristotle (c. mid 4th century ) Nicomachean Ethics, trans. W.D. Ross, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1972. ( Arguably the greatest work on ethics in Western thought; considers what is required to live a full and satisfying life, in which the finest human capacities are exercised properly.)
	Moore, G.E. (1903) Principia Ethica, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1966, esp. ch. 5. ( Argues that to say that an act is right is equivalent to saying that its total results will be the best possible, and claims that by far the most valuable things are personal relationships and the appreciation of beauty.)
	Pettit, P. (1993) ‘‘Consequentialism’’, in P. Singer (ed.) A Companion to Ethics, Oxford: Blackwell, 230–40. ( A clear introduction to the topic.)
	Parfit, D. (1984) Reasons and Persons, Oxford: Clarendon Press, esp. sections 10–14, 37, 41–4. ( Contains one of the most sophisticated recent discussions and defences of consequentialism.)
	Scheffler, S. (1982) The Rejection of Consequentialism, Oxford: Clarendon Press. ( Argues for a ‘hybrid’ theory in which agents are permitted, but cannot be required, not to maximize the good.)
	Scheffler, S. (1988) Consequentialism and Its Critics, Oxford: Oxford University Press. ( A very useful collection of seminal articles.)
	Sidgwick, H. (1874) The Methods of Ethics, London: Macmillan; 7th edn, 1907, esp. I (ch. 9), II (ch. 1), III (chaps 11, 13), IV (chaps 2–5). ( The classic source of many of the strategies now discussed by consequentialists and their opponents.)
	Smart, J. and Williams, B. (1973) Utilitarianism For and Against, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ( Two fine essays. Williams’ piece introduces many of the objections to consequentialism that have figured in subsequent debate, including the notorious example of Jim and the Indians.)