Breve genealogía de la moral por acuerdo

Abstract

N eocontractarianism is probably the most conspicuous challenge to ethical utilitarianism. At the moment, Gauthier's Morals by Agreement can be considered the more advanced and developed version of moral contractarianism, as well as one of the most influential works about moral philosophy in recent years. Paradoxically, the threat it poses against utilitarianism takes its force from its deeply utilitarian roots. This essay tries to explain how the main contractarian concepts derived from quite simple ideas about rationality, prudence and morality, all of them havimg much to do with utilitarian conceptions. This is showed by tracing the main issues in Gauthier's major work back throughout his previous essays. As a result, the author maintains that a close link exists between utilitarian conceptions and the basis of contractarian thought, but precisely because of that, contractarian developments question the very utilitarian project as a whole. It is difficult to decide whether contractarianism has definitively overridden utilitarianism, but the suggestions offered by this genealogical study may shed sorne light on a pressing debate.