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Consequentialism Theory

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In the following paper I will be trying to describe in details the Consequentialism theory of ethics and provide few real life examples of applicability and usability. As in a specific moral dilemma there are multiple ways how to describe our theories that can be used to describe or justify the moral decision I will be focusing my attention on Utilitarism (Consequentialism theory) as a way to justify our moral or immoral actions. Most of our life dilemmas are considered, at least from my point of view, to be crucial to our overall character development. Having the proper mind-set or knowledge to deal with them will help one’s decision to be a less of a burden. In every decision making circumstances there will be multiple …show more content…

It represents a way to decide if an action is morally correct by looking at the consequences that it produces, if they are favourable they are morally correct according to Fieser (2016). According to the same author Consequentialism can simply be divided in 3 categories. Ethical egoism classifying an action to be morally right if the overall consequence that action will result to be more beneficial for the person performing it. Ethical altruism when if the benefits of the actions are more beneficial to everyone else except the person performing the action and in the end Utilitarianism which classifies an action to be morally correct if the consequences of that action are beneficial to everyone. The concept, as I previously stated is fairly simple to understand and according to Santa Clara University(2014) it is calculated by subtracting the negative outcome of a circumstance from the overall positive outcome and if positive will be grater then happiness is achieved thus the act is considered morally correct. As the same writers from Santa Clara University(2014) represent, the problem of Utilitarism is that when a unethical action like lying or murder is considered morally correct due to the overall beneficial circumstances that it produces. The theory of Utilitarism is not a criteria that can be used in every circumstance as explained above thus in every moral dilemma I believe that has to be a combination of theories when concluding a

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As we know consequentialism is the focus of an action that does more intrinsically good than bad, one kind of consequentialist theory is utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is an action that produces consequences that are more good over bad for everyone involved. In order to produce an action that is the best one a utilitarianist would consider both long and short term effects. Two sub categories of utilitarianism include act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. act utilitarianism bases an action on the overall well being produced by an individual.

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Ethical theories are ways of telling right from wrong and include guidelines of how to live and act in an ethical way. For example when faced with a difficult situation in your life, you can use ethical theories to assist you in making the right decision. One key theory is consequentialism, which says that an individual’s correct moral response is related to the outcome/ consequence of the act and not its intentions/ motives. Early writers on this theory were Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, a modern writer is Peter Singer. For example Brenda Grey has asked for the asthma specialist to visit her weekly, and to decide if this is necessary the professionals involved have to look at how it would affect her wellbeing.

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Bernard Williams’ essay, A Critique of Utilitarianism, launches a rather scathing criticism of J. J. C. Smart’s, An Outline of a System of Utilitarian ethics. Even though Williams claims his essay is not a direct response to Smart’s paper, the manner in which he constantly refers to Smart’s work indicates that Smart’s version of Utilitarianism, referred to as act-Utilitarianism, is the main focus of Williams’ critique. Smart illustrates the distinction between act-Utilitarianism and rule-Utilitarianism early on in his work. He says that act-Utilitarianism is the idea that the rightness of an action depends on the total goodness of an action’s consequences.

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Utilitarianism is one of the best-known theory under the consequentialism, and its idea is the Greatest Happiness Principle(GHP). According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Utilitarian believe that the purpose of morality is to

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When a person is going to make a moral decision based on consequentialism, he or she first look at the good and bad possible consequences of the action, then determine whether the total good consequences outweigh the total bad.

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Consequentialist believe that morality is about producing the right overall consequences, and that the action brings about either happiness, freedom or survival of species. Utilitarianism is an example of consequentialism that maximizes utility (happiness). The difference between utilitarianism and consequentialism is that a utilitarian overlooks justice, as long as an utilitarian can maximize pleasure they would do whatever it takes. Consequentialist enjoy maximizing pleasure like a utilitarian, but they also take into account autonomy and justice. A consequentialist believes that determining good by measuring the outcome, if the good for all in the act is greater than the bad for all in the act, it is deemed morally good.

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Utilitarian suggest that we make our moral decisions from the position of a benevolent, disinterested spectator. Rather than thinking about

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Consequentialists say that morality is all about producing the right kinds of overall consequences. They believe that whether the action is right or wrong depends solely on its consequences. In order to follow this, we first figure out what is valuable or good and then we MAXIMIZE it. If the consequence of the action produces the maximum amount of good for the greatest number of people, then the action is right. Consequentialism is controversial.

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Consequential Ethical theory It is a part of normative ethical theories and it means that the consequence of ones behavior is an ultimate mean for anyone to judge the rightness or wrongness of that behavior. So, from the perspective of a consequentialist an ethically right act is the one that will inherit good outcome or consequence. It usually explains the saying “the end justifies the means” which means that in order to achieve a goal, take any route which leads to achieving it.

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Utilitarianism is a teleological ethical theory based on the idea that an action is moral if it causes the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. The theory is concerned with predicted consequences or outcomes of a situation rather than focusing on what is done to get to the outcome. There are many forms of utilitarianism, having been introduced by Jeremy Bentham (act utilitarianism), and later being updated by scholars such as J.S. Mill (rule utilitarianism) and Peter Singer (preference utilitarianism). When referring to issues of business ethics, utilitarianism can allow companies to decide what to do in a given situation based on a simple calculation. Many people would agree that this idea of promoting goodness

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Consequentialist theory followers. Consequentialist theory followers focus mostly on the consequences of the decision and the action. The most famous consequentialist theory is Utilitarianism. This theory follows the principle of utility which assumes that the decision is ethical if it maximizes benefits to the society and minimizes harms.

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