Ethical System: Consequentialism And Deontology

Improved Essays
In philosophy, there are ethical systems in place to help identify what would ideally be considered a universally accepted basis for morality. These systems follow ethical beliefs which philosophers categorize under different sets of moral rules. Two very important examples of these moral systems are Consequentialism and Deontology. They are two different strategies which attempt to identify what morality is really about by outlining the different values of what makes a good and ethical person. Deontology determines morality based on laws which are followed with the intent of being a good person not to be overly concerned with consequences, whereas Consequentialism focusses more on the results, because the belief is that the end will justify …show more content…
While it is taken into consideration for a consequentialist, in Deontology it would be considered more important to focus on the person’s intention to do the right thing rather than their concern with the results. This is the most ethical way to make any decision, with the primary concern being to follow what moral and societal rules deem as the right thing to do. When a choice is made because the person understands that it is their duty to do what's right, it is much more honourable than when they do something because it will result in a good consequence. From a consequentialist’s perspective, “consequences can conceivably justify any kind of act, for it does not matter how harmful it is to some so long as it is more beneficial to others.” Utilitarianism is an example of extremely consequentialist viewpoints because it is focussed entirely on identifying which path will result in the outcome of maximum pleasure for the highest number of people. Although it could hypothetically be ideal to live in a society where the only concern is the happiness of its people, it is not realistic or moral to run a life based solely on doing what will result in the most pleasure for the most people. In Deontology, it is never okay to make a choice as merely a means to and end. This …show more content…
When defining morality it is important to “recognize the existence of significant variation in what rules and ideals different people put forward as morality.” However, in philosophy, the ethical system which makes the best case for what morality is really about it would be Deontology rather than Consequentialism. This is because deontologists are concerned with doing the right thing because it is what is ultimately morally good which is more ethical than defining what is right by whether or not an act results in a positive consequence. “Ethics, also called moral philosophy, [is] the discipline concerned with what is morally good and bad, right and wrong.” The categorical imperative and other deontological teachings fit neatly into the definition of ethics since the top priority is to always do what is right before being concerned with anything else. Deontology defines what morality is really about because taking the most ethical approach is what a deontologist values most, the same cannot be said for a consequentialist, which makes deontology superior to consequentialism from a moral and ethical

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    1c) Deontologists trust that morality involves obligation. We have moral obligations to do things which it is on the whole correct to do and moral obligations not to get things done which it isn't right to do. In the case of something is correct or wrong doesn't depend on its outcomes. Or maybe, an activity is correct or wrong in itself.…

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In chapter three of Human Kindness and The Smell of Warm Croissants, philosopher Ruwen Ogien describes a thought experiment involving a surgeon, a healthy young man and five patients who need to undergo a transplant. In this scenario, the surgeon is presented with two courses of action, either kill a healthy young man to save the lives of the five patients or to let the five patients die. The purpose of this essay is to expound how two different moral theories would decide which course of action would be morally justifiable for the surgeon. After presenting the deontological and utilitarian approach to this situation, I will argue that the surgeon should take the deontological position. Deontological ethics or deontology is a moral theory…

    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There different ethical theories when it comes to ethics in healthcare. Three of those ethical theories would be consequentialism, non-consequentialism, and virtue ethics. First of all, consequential theory means that doing a morally right action is some type of action that will lead to the maximum balance of a good over something bad or evil. This theory can be judged by our actions and the consequences those actions may bring. The theory revolves around the idea that the rightness or wrongness of an action is dependent upon what action was taken and the consequences of that action and the effects if it.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    According to Consequentialism only the consequences of the proposal can help us determine what is good for the people while Deontology can better be used when it comes to the rights of the people and determining what is good or right like we seen in the criminal justice…

    • 1410 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Many people have justifications for why they do certain things. Some justifications are based off of happiness, desires, god or morals. People who use happiness and desires as their justification use theories of the good. While those who use god and morals use theories of morality. Some theories that fall into the theories of morality are the divine command theory, consequentialism, and social contract theory.…

    • 1327 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Apology

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A deontologist is someone who would base their answer on rationality, or rule base ethics. A consequentialist believes that the morality of their actions would be judges based on the consequences. I found myself learning towards the consequentialist argument based on the fact I find myself to be a…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Contractualism In School

    • 169 Words
    • 1 Pages

    According to consequentialism, actions are “right” so far as they have beneficial consequences. Thus, actions, laws, policies, etc., are morally right to the degree and only to the degree that they produce some good or some useful outcome(Williams & Arrigo, 2008). The school policy on bullying is morally right to a degree. This is a policy put in place to try and stop bullying, and it give parents a clear continuous that their kids or not being bullied even if the policy does not really hold true.…

    • 169 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    For example, imagine a man has a terminal cancer. He tells his doctor that he wants to die as he is in a substantial amount of pain. His family looks on as the man they love is in constant agony and is withering away slowly. In this example, I would be more inclined to accept the consequentialist view. Allowing the man to die by euthanasia allows him to die peacefully without any more suffering.…

    • 1347 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    For centuries, philosophers have applied sets of normative principles in effort to distinguish if an action is morally right or wrong. The purpose of normative ethics is to help guide society on how humans ought to act. These theories provide justifiable and reliable outcomes to determine if an action is moral or immoral. Two principles that play a significant role in normative ethics are consequentialism and Kantianism. When faced with a moral dilemma, these theories may agree or conflict with one another.…

    • 1103 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Moral philosophy tries to explain the difference between right and wrong so that people can make good decisions. However, finding out what makes an action right is not so easy. For this reason, several different theories have evolved while trying to explain this issue. One of those theories is deontology, or duty-defined morality. Probably the most famous and influential spokesman of this theory is Immanuel Kant.…

    • 1255 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Derived from the Greek word deon, meaning duty, Deontology maintains that we are morally obligated to act in accordance with a certain set of principles regardless of outcome. Since the end result should not be taken into consideration, Deontology is a form of nonconsequentialism. Kant argued that the moral value of an action is determined by human will, and good will “is the only thing in the world that can be considered good without qualification” (Kant, 1785). A person must act in accordance with categorical imperatives, meaning one must do an action for the sake of the action and should will that action to become universal law. The Ones…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Consequentialism and deontology are contrasting theories of philosophy that guide us in viewing acts in terms of their morality. The doctrine of consequentialism suggests we should judge the morality of actions purely on the results they produce; whereas deontology aims to judge morality based on the conduct of an individual, and morality is decided from the moral acceptance of a particular action rather than the result the decision produces. These principles of philosophy have existed for thousands of years, with many philosophers throughout history using them as a basis for their work. In the context of an ethical situation, we can thoroughly use these ideologies as instruments to determine an effective solution to prevent a harmful dilemma;…

    • 1326 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Consequentialism is the ethical theory that makes the moral decision of whether something is good or not based on the consequences that come from said action. With consequentialism being a sort of umbrella term, underneath it includes other ethical theories such as utilitarianism, altruism, egoism, and negative…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The defining feature of deontological ethics is that it decides whether an action is moral or immoral without considering anything else. For example, Kant argues that lying is never under any circumstances acceptable, no matter what the situation, as we cannot will for lying to be a universal maxim. Whereas the consequentialist view is of the opposite opinion that it is our consequences that hold moral value, not our actions. Concequentialists believe in the theory of “the greater good” and therefore aim to make the most people the most happy they can in society, Because of this, they take the view that telling a lie in some instances is acceptable if it goes on to produce good consequences later on. This seems like an ideal theory if we could actually pre determine the outcome of our actions, but we have little or no control in the real world over how our actions turn out.…

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Utilitarianism V. Pragmatism Over many centuries, ethics helped build the foundation of the laws we abide by today. Ethics are moral principles that control a person’s behavior/actions. Ethics is also known as moral philosophy, which is a branch of philosophy that rises up questions about morality. For instances, questions like is it good or bad, right or wrong, justice or crime.…

    • 1625 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays