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Deontology At The Threshold, Larry Alexander

San Diego Law Review

In his 1989 law review article, Torture and the Balance of Evils,' later republished as Chapter Seventeen in Placing Blame, Michael Moore declares himself to be a "threshold deontologist." What he means is this: There are some acts that are morally wrong despite producing a net positive balance of consequences; but if the positive balance of consequences becomes sufficiently great-especially if it does so by averting horrible consequences as opposed to merely making people quite well off-then one is morally permitted, and perhaps required, to engage in those acts that are otherwise morally prohibited. Thus, one may not kill or …