Equal consideration of interests
Encyclopedia
"Equal consideration of interests" is the name of a moral principle that states that one should both include all affected interests when calculating the rightness of an action, and weigh those interests equally.
The term "equal consideration of interests" first appeared in Peter Singer
's Practical Ethics
. The idea is that individual right
s are unimportant philosophically; what is instead much more relevant is the consideration of an individual's interests.
The principle thus opposes those theories that either exclude some interests from the moral calculus or weigh certain interests differently from others. Jeremy Bentham
's dictum, "each to count for one, and none for more than one" can be considered a formulation of the principle of equal consideration of interests, and a basis for the broader philosophy of utilitarianism
. The principle also underlies Peter Singer
's views, who is a moral utilitarian that has explicitly adopted it as the foundation of his ethical theory.
If all beings, not just human, are included as having interests that must be considered, then the principle of equal consideration of interests opposes not only racism
and sexism
, but also speciesism
and some forms of nationalism
.
"The essence of the principle of equal consideration of interests is that we give equal weight in our moral deliberations to the like interests of all those affected by our actions. This means that if only X and Y would be affected by a possible act, and if X stands to lose more than Y stands to gain, it is better not to do the act." (Practical Ethics, 2nd edition P21)
In the same way, Singer states that it is ludicrous to say that all animals should hold the same rights; whereas a democratic society might claim that all humans should have the right to vote, that same society would never say that all other animals should have that same right. To do so would be unnecessary, unimportant, and incorrect. But this does not mean that non-human animals should have no consideration given to their interests. Just because some individual animal should not have the right to vote does not mean that it should enjoy no rights at all. Instead, Singer argues, a consideration of the animal's interests should be equal to that of the consideration already given to human beings.
and William Baxter
) who speak on this subject do not agree with the concept of giving equal consideration. They do not contest the term consideration of interests; they merely argue that the consideration of rights given to individual beings is not only arbitrary, but should be arbitrary.
The term "equal consideration of interests" first appeared in Peter Singer
Peter Singer
Peter Albert David Singer is an Australian philosopher who is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne...
's Practical Ethics
Practical Ethics
The book Practical Ethics is an introduction to applied ethics written by modern bioethical philosopher Peter Singer. It was originally published in 1979 and has since been translated into a number of languages. The book caused outrage in Germany, Austria and Switzerland...
. The idea is that individual right
Right
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory...
s are unimportant philosophically; what is instead much more relevant is the consideration of an individual's interests.
The principle thus opposes those theories that either exclude some interests from the moral calculus or weigh certain interests differently from others. Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. He became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism...
's dictum, "each to count for one, and none for more than one" can be considered a formulation of the principle of equal consideration of interests, and a basis for the broader philosophy of utilitarianism
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes the overall "happiness", by whatever means necessary. It is thus a form of consequentialism, meaning that the moral worth of an action is determined only by its resulting outcome, and that one can...
. The principle also underlies Peter Singer
Peter Singer
Peter Albert David Singer is an Australian philosopher who is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne...
's views, who is a moral utilitarian that has explicitly adopted it as the foundation of his ethical theory.
If all beings, not just human, are included as having interests that must be considered, then the principle of equal consideration of interests opposes not only racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
, but also speciesism
Speciesism
Speciesism is the assigning of different values or rights to beings on the basis of their species membership. The term was created by British psychologist Richard D...
and some forms of nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
.
Example
For example, when drafting up a list of rights that all human beings should have, it is both unnecessary and unimportant to say that all human beings have the right to become pregnant. Clearly, an entire segment of the population (males) does not even have this capability, and so defining this as a right of all humans is wholly unimportant."The essence of the principle of equal consideration of interests is that we give equal weight in our moral deliberations to the like interests of all those affected by our actions. This means that if only X and Y would be affected by a possible act, and if X stands to lose more than Y stands to gain, it is better not to do the act." (Practical Ethics, 2nd edition P21)
In the same way, Singer states that it is ludicrous to say that all animals should hold the same rights; whereas a democratic society might claim that all humans should have the right to vote, that same society would never say that all other animals should have that same right. To do so would be unnecessary, unimportant, and incorrect. But this does not mean that non-human animals should have no consideration given to their interests. Just because some individual animal should not have the right to vote does not mean that it should enjoy no rights at all. Instead, Singer argues, a consideration of the animal's interests should be equal to that of the consideration already given to human beings.
Philosophical disagreement
Certain philosophers (See Bonnie SteinbockBonnie Steinbock
Bonnie Steinbock is a professor of philosophy at the University at Albany and a specialist in bioethics who has written on topics such as abortion and animal rights. Questions from her examinations have appeared in the "Education Life" section of the New York Times. Steinbock received her Ph.D....
and William Baxter
William Baxter (law professor)
William Francis Baxter, Jr. was a law professor at Stanford University. His specialty was antitrust law.-Antitrust Law:...
) who speak on this subject do not agree with the concept of giving equal consideration. They do not contest the term consideration of interests; they merely argue that the consideration of rights given to individual beings is not only arbitrary, but should be arbitrary.