ABSTRACT
Consequentialism is a view about evaluation. As a first approximation, consequentialism can be described as the view that evaluands-the objects of evaluations-are to be judged solely on how well they promote value. “Promoting value” here means promoting the existence of whatever is intrinsically valuable or good for its own sake and the absence of whatever is intrinsically disvaluable or bad for its own sake. Consequentialist views are sometimes also referred to as “teleological” (e.g., Rawls 1999: 21-2), since they appraise evaluands based on how well they promote certain ends, although this invites confusion with the Aristotelian view that evaluands should be appraised on how well they realize their own natural ends.
