Brad Hooker
Encyclopedia
Brad Hooker is a philosopher who specialises in moral philosophy. He is a Professor at the University of Reading
and is best known for his work defending rule-consequentialism
(often treated as being synonymous with rule utilitarianism
).
His book Ideal Code, Real World received a number of favourable reviews from high profile philosophers. Derek Parfit
, for example, wrote: "This book seems to me the best statement and defence, so far, of one of the most important moral theories."
Brad Hooker avoided this objection by not basing his form of rule-consequentialism on the ideal of maximising the good. He writes:
"…the best argument for rule-consequentialism is not that it derives from an overarching commitment to maximise the good. The best argument for rule-consequentialism is that it does a better job than its rivals of matching and tying together our moral convictions, as well as offering us help with our moral disagreements and uncertainties."
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. The University was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926. It is based on several campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.The University has a long tradition...
and is best known for his work defending rule-consequentialism
Consequentialism
Consequentialism is the class of normative ethical theories holding that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness of that conduct...
(often treated as being synonymous with rule utilitarianism
Rule Utilitarianism
Rule utilitarianism is a form of utilitarianism that says actions are moral when they conform to the rules that lead to the greatest good, or that "the rightness or wrongness of a particular action is a function of the correctness of the rule of which it is an instance." For rule utilitarians, the...
).
His book Ideal Code, Real World received a number of favourable reviews from high profile philosophers. Derek Parfit
Derek Parfit
Derek Parfit is a British philosopher who specializes in problems of personal identity, rationality and ethics, and the relations between them. His 1984 book Reasons and Persons has been very influential...
, for example, wrote: "This book seems to me the best statement and defence, so far, of one of the most important moral theories."
Brad Hooker's rule-consequentialism
One of the most common objections to rule-consequentialism is that it is incoherent, because it is based on the consequentialist principle that what we should be concerned with is maximising the good, but then it tells us not to act to maximise the good, but to follow rules (even in cases where we know that breaking the rule could produce better results).Brad Hooker avoided this objection by not basing his form of rule-consequentialism on the ideal of maximising the good. He writes:
"…the best argument for rule-consequentialism is not that it derives from an overarching commitment to maximise the good. The best argument for rule-consequentialism is that it does a better job than its rivals of matching and tying together our moral convictions, as well as offering us help with our moral disagreements and uncertainties."
External links
- Brad Hooker's entry on rule consequentialism in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism-rule/
- Brad Hooker's discussion of KantKANTKANT is a computer algebra system for mathematicians interested in algebraic number theory, performing sophisticated computations in algebraic number fields, in global function fields, and in local fields. KASH is the associated command line interface...
's ethics in Richmond Journal of Philosophy (2002): http://www.richmond-philosophy.net/rjp/back_issues/rjp1_hooker.pdf
- Julia Driver's review of Hooker's Ideal Code, Real World: http://ndpr.nd.edu/review.cfm?id=1136
- A podcast of Brad Hooker discussing rule consequentialism: http://www.philosophybites.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=251955