Against Essentialism in Ethics
It has long seemed to me folly to assume that one thing can determine the right or the good in all contexts in the way that, for example, Kantian deontologists and utilitarians claim. Each time I teach global ethics, this “feeling” is heightened. Why could it not be the case that in one context consequences are more relevant and in another intentions? For example, a person is careless while driving, looking at his iPod, and ends up killing someone, quite…