Utilitarianism: The Four Types Of Ethical Theories

Ethics are moral principles that govern a person 's or group 's behavior and a way someone decides on what is moral, is by using an ethical theory. Ethical theories are not only a set of perspectives for right and wrong, but they also provide a way for someone to seek guidance or to make decisions. However, each theory focuses on different factors such as happiness, duty, or virtue. Their differences are not in the way of decision-making, but in the way, they are applied to achieve a goal. This means that the outcomes could be different, the processes could be different, or even that if the processes are different then the outcomes would be the same. With this is mind, Utilitarianism is an ethical theory based on predicting the outcome of any decision. To the utilitarian, an act is the most ethical if and only if it results in the greatest amount of happiness for the most people. This ethical theory states that everyone’s happiness is weighed in the same. Its focal points are in fairness and a making just decisions. Important to realize, utilitarianism even takes into account a person’s feelings or social constraints. Yet, if those conflicts interfere with the greatest amount of happiness then a utilitarian would basically tell you to get over it. An example of this would be if there …show more content…
The point of them is to provide us with reasoning and the guidance to make our own decisions. There is no one true ethical way to live because that is for the individual to decide. Whether he or she decides to live by sacrificing his or her values for the greater good or by staying true to his or her value for decision making is up to him or her. This being said, the best theory is the theory that feels right for the person. Each person has a set of morals, motivation, and ethics that they value. It is important to realize a course of action is ultimately only up to us. Any method is the right method if we achieve our set