Ethical Theory: Consequentialism Vs Utilitarianism

As a student who has currently learned about morality, the ideas that presented themselves do give interesting insights about the very decisions that make up our lives. As a whole, ethical theories try to logically explain the moral implications of our actions, our character, and even our emotions. These theories that I have analyzed did give me an insight into how they’ve affected the mentalities of people across the ages; in addition to showing the kinds of advantages they have compared to one another. Yet, at the same time; the various theories I’ve looked into have very noticeable flaws that keep me from completely agreeing with the ideas they present. This can ether range in standard issues that are known about each theory, to the fact …show more content…
Ultimately, the biggest goal of a consequentialist is to maximize happiness by making happiness the goal of their actions. However, the differences in how happiness applies arise in the two forms of the theory: ethical egoism and utilitarianism. Ethical egoism dictates that the best action’s consequences should only benefit the person who performed the action to be considered good; utilitarianism argues that an action is only good if it maximizes the good for everyone and minimizes the bad for everyone. Individually, both versions have their advantages: ethical egoism teaches self-reliance and self-sufficiency, and utilitarianism instructs how to be able to provide good for everybody. Yet, both theories hold their own problems: ethical egoism is easily corruptible in the sense that it’s easy to do things are morally correct for yourself, but it could also lead to actions that would harm others; utilitarianism, while it does try to promote total good, can lead to somewhat nonsensical decisions and might end up being harmful. That is why I can’t agree with consequentialism, it’s too easy to make mistakes with moral judgment and can often lead to making unethical decisions very