Sartre rejected both deontological and consequentialist ethics as too indeterminate

Evidence

Sartre argues that Kant’s categorical imperative is too general. He seems to follow the spirit of Hegel’s criticism that the categorical imperative is so empty that it can generate contradictory results for the analysis of any maxim; hence, it cannot generate determinate decisions in concrete contexts. By too vague, Sartre refers to the calculation problem that plagues consequentialism. Th e future consequences of an action are too complex; hence, calculations can be nothing more than vague impressions that off er little help. — Christine Daigle, Jacob Golomb (eds.), Beauvoir and Sartre, 213

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains the twin critiques behind Sartrean ethics: Kantian formalism via Hegel, and the consequentialist calculation problem.
• XREF: connects to: Beauvoir rejected Kantian ethics for presupposing a closed voluntarist circularity — Christine Daigle, Jacob Golomb (eds.), Beauvoir and Sartre: The Riddle of…, 428; Sartre explicitly denied any pre-existing moral path for human choice. — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 1136

Broader Connections

• Beauvoir rejected Kantian ethics for presupposing a closed voluntarist circularity #expands (0.80) — Christine Daigle, Jacob Golomb (eds.), Beauvoir and Sartre, 428