Editing Value theory (section)

=== Ethics ===
{{main|Ethics}}

Ethics and value theory are overlapping fields of inquiry. Ethics studies [[Morality|moral]] phenomena, focusing on how people should act or which behaviors are morally right.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Norman|2005|p=622}} | {{harvnb|Nagel|2006|loc=Lead section}} | {{harvnb|Crisp|2011|loc=§ 1. Ethics and Metaethics}} }}</ref> Value theory investigates the nature, sources, and types of values in general.<ref name="auto2"/> Some philosophers understand value theory as a subdiscipline of ethics. This is based on the idea that what people should do is affected by value considerations but not necessarily limited to them.<ref name="auto7"/> Another view sees ethics as a subdiscipline of value theory. This outlook follows the idea that ethics is concerned with moral values affecting what people can control, whereas value theory examines a broader range of values, including those beyond anyone's control.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Schroeder|2021|loc=Lead section}} | {{harvnb|Orsi|2015|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=cc3cBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA6 6–7]}} | {{harvnb|Bahm|1993|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jqSRrmtQ_WoC&pg=PA4 4]}} | {{harvnb|Cowan|2020|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-2jDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 4]}} | {{harvnb|Hurka|2006|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=K44RDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA357 357–358]}}}}</ref> Some perspectives contrast ethics and value theory, asserting that the [[Normativity|normative]] concepts examined by ethics are distinct from the evaluative concepts examined by value theory.<ref name="auto4"/> [[Axiological ethics]] is a subfield of ethics examining the nature and role of values from a moral perspective, with particular interest in determining which ends are worth pursuing.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Findlay|1970|pp=1–2, 4}} | {{harvnb|Kupperman|2005|pp=73–74}} }}</ref>

The ethical theory of [[consequentialism]] combines the perspectives of ethics and value theory, asserting that the rightness of an action depends on the value of its consequences. Consequentialists compare possible courses of action, saying that people should follow the one leading to the best overall consequences.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Sinnott-Armstrong|2023|loc=Lead section}} | {{harvnb|Crisp|2005|pp=200–201}} | {{harvnb|Alexander|Moore|2021|loc=§ 1. Deontology's Foil: Consequentialism}} }}</ref> The overall consequences of an action are the totality of its effects, or how it impacts the world by starting a causal chain of events that would not have occurred otherwise.<ref>{{harvnb|Dorsey|2020|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=d0D8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA97 97–98]}}</ref> Distinct versions of consequentialism rely on different theories of the sources of value. [[Classical utilitarianism]], a prominent form of consequentialism, says that moral actions produce the greatest amount of [[pleasure]] for the greatest number of people. It combines a consequentialist outlook on right action with a [[Hedonism|hedonist]] outlook on pleasure as the only source of intrinsic value.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Sinnott-Armstrong|2023|loc=§ 1. Classic Utilitarianism}} | {{harvnb|Chenneville|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=yn06DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 5]}} | {{harvnb|Hearn|1971|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=0z_z0RYmr38C&pg=PA2 2]}} }}</ref>