Pastries to Die For

An Objection to Causal Efficacy Principles

Abstract

 An objection to ethical vegetarianism is that the consumption of meat does not causally influence the production of meat. The objection relies on a principle called the Causal Efficacy Principle. The principle states that if an action does not directly cause harm, then that action is morally permissible. I provide a thought experiment as a counterexample to this principle, and then, I attempt to diagnose why the principle is false in terms of moral cooperation. Moral cooperation is when many people perform an action that individually does not prevent harm, but prevents harm when the group all performs the action.