Back to issue
Cover of: The Life you do Not Save: Reflections on the Causal Element in the Notion of a Decision's Consequences
Weyma Lübbe

The Life you do Not Save: Reflections on the Causal Element in the Notion of a Decision's Consequences

Section: Conference Article 6
Volume 176 (2020) / Issue 1, pp. 156-168 (13)
Published 22.01.2020
DOI 10.1628/jite-2020-0018
  • article PDF
  • available
  • 10.1628/jite-2020-0018
Due to a system change, access problems and other issues may occur. We are working with urgency on a solution. We apologise for any inconvenience.
Summary
Ever since Savage represented acts by reference to their consequences, it has remained unclear how this conceptual move and its implications for evaluating acts may be reconciled with what is treated as people's acts in everyday talk and in our societies' legal practices. The present contribution, first, comments on applied and theoretical debates to emphasize the systematic relevance of Savage's move.It then focuses on the purportedly causal element in the term »consequence."A simple case shows how the idea that choices are causally connected to their consequences meets with problems. Possible consequentialist reactions are discussed.