Frederic R. Kellogg (George Washington University; Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE)) has posted The Origin Of Rules In Dewey's Naturalized Utilitarianism: A Reply To Rawls on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Classical utilitarianism holds that an act may be judged on immediate considerations of utility; but Dewey amends the instantaneous model with the natural occurrence of further events that contribute to defining and redefining a problematic situation. Deweyan rules emerge from extended inquiry into problems and from convergent practices that depend on feedback from society into the resolution of recurring disputes. These lead to adjustments of reasoning and practice, as larger problems are increasingly defined. Early stages depend heavily on consequentialist tests, but later stages are open to "unification," which includes generalization of response through ethical judgment and emergent rule-making. Any rule resolving a dispute is rooted in a practice; but the practice in effect replaces an earlier unsettled calculus of opposing reasons, and this only happens upon successful preference adjustment. Resolving problem-based conflicts thus has precedence for Dewey over any immediate welfare maximizing utilitarian balance.
