Abstract
In the present essay, I explore the relationship between cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and utilitarianism. I find that CBA receives its greatest theoretical support from utilitarianism. In fact, it is nearly identical to one form of that ethical theory and shares with utilitarianism the ideal of replacing reliance on intuitive judgments with reliance on calculative rationality. At the same time, however, CBA suffers from some of the weaknesses of utilitarianism, which render it unreliable as an analytic tool. While modifications to CBA address some of these weaknesses, they virtually abandon the original ideal of replacing intuitions with calculations, because the modifications can be justified and employed only through the use of intuitions.
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© 1986 D. Reidel Publishing Company
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Wenz, P.S. (1986). CBA, Utilitarianism, and Reliance upon Intuitions. In: Agich, G.J., Begley, C.E. (eds) The Price of Health. Philosophy and Medicine, vol 21. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4704-7_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4704-7_4
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