Question

what is the differnce between act and rule consequentialism?

Answer 1

Ans. :- Difference between Act and Rule Consequentialism :-

(1) Act consequentialism states that the rightness of an act depends entirely on whether or not it maximizes the good while Rule consequentialism states that the rightness of an act does not depend on the goodness of its consequences, but it depends on whether or not it is in accordance with a certain code of rules, which has been selected for its good consequences.

(2) Act consequentialist is different from the rule consequentialist in thinking that every time an agent follows DP2 and yet fails to maximize the good. The rule consequentialist, by contrast, believes that it is often impermissible to break such rules even when doing so will maximize the good.

(3) For act consequentialism, all that ultimately matters from the moral point of view is whether individuals are benefited or harmed. It can never be wrong to do what produces the most good while for rule consequentialism, morality derives from the worry about what if everyone felt free to do that. Morality is a collective enterprise undertaken for the sake of collective benefit.