Preview

Difference Between Utilitarianism And Consequentialism

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
250 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Difference Between Utilitarianism And Consequentialism
Consequentialism is a moral theory which is majorly concerned with consequences. One’s actions are not as much of a basis for judgement as are the outcomes of said actions. Ethical egoism and utilitarianism develop from consequentialism. Both sects are in agreement that people should behave in ways and choose to act in ways that would bring about the best consequences. The major difference between the two theories is where they believe those acts should be directed.
Utilitarianism is mainly focused on obtaining the greater good. Hopefully, gaining the most good for the most people. The moral value of any act is judged by how much good is created as a result for all beings. While in some instances people may be hurt by these actions, the theory

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Utilitarian ethical theories are based on one’s ability to expect the concerns of an deed. Utilitarianism’s creed is that the result of any action takes importance over any type of means, this means that Utilitarianisms objective is to help as many individuals as possible even if it were to negatively disturb people along the way so as long as it helped the general populace. Basically, it’s the ends that matter not necessarily the means.…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Consequentialists believe that whether an act is right or wrong depends only on the overall consequence of that act, where punishment should serve to promote good, contributing to crime prevention or societal welfare.…

    • 1567 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Utilitarianism revolves around the concept of “the end justifies the means.” It believes that outcomes as a result of an action have a greater value compared to the latter, the morally right action is the action that produces the most good. It also states that the most ethical thing to do is to take advantage of happiness for the good of the society. This normative theory considers the overall good for all people and not just a single person.…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Utilitarianism theories hold that the moral worth of actions or practices is determined by their consequences. An action or practice is right if it leads to the best possible balance of good consequences over bad consequences for all affected parties. (Arnold, pp 17)…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Utilitarianism is the ethical theory behind justifying an action for being for the greater good. This is a teleological theory because it looks at the consequences of an action. Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory. There are three types of utilitarianism: Act, Rule and Preference. Jeremy Bentham began the Utilitarianism theory. Utilitarianism is a hedonistic theory because it is based on pleasure and happiness. Each utilitarian has a different theory of Utilitarianism and this will be explained in my essay.…

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    While describing the utilitarianism is concerned with arriving at the most good for all. “According to this theory an individual's rights may be infringed upon in order to benefit a greater population.” (2011) In terms of ethics of a utilitarian trying to make positive change for a larger group. Morally a utilitarian would guide themselves in decision based on the group the belonged to or are associated with.…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The main idea of utilitarianism (U) is to create ‘the greatest pleasure for the greatest number of people’. This is similar to Christianity and the golden rule ‘love your neighbour as yourself’. With situation ethics, in a dilemma you should always do the most loving and compassionate thing. However in contrast to the utilitarian idea that you should try and greatest happiness for the most people, Christian ethics would look at everyone in an equal manner, as everyone was made ‘in the image of God’. It says in the bible that God is personal and loving and therefore looks after the vulnerable, whereas utilitarian’s would have to ignore the minority for their theory to work.…

    • 282 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Utilitarianism is an ethical philosophy which seeks to maximize well-being for the largest amount of people. This means that if you can secure pleasure at no moral cost, you should do so. It also means that if you can prevent displeasure for others without sacrificing anything of equal moral value, you should. In Utilitarianism the key is the well-being for the entire population.…

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Utilitarianism in ethics is the theory that the rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by its usefulness in bringing about the most happiness of all those affected by it. The word utilitarianism comes from the Greek word telos, which means “end”. Under this direction, acting ethically means making decisions and taking actions that benefit the people by maximizing “good” and minimizing “bad” (danielsfund.org). Englishmen Jerry Bentham and John Stuart Mill were too of the most influential developers of the utilitarian view point. Utilitarianism focuses on the pursuit of happiness.…

    • 816 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Chapter 2 Outline

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Consequentialism- the moral consequences of actions rather than with the morality of the actions themselves.…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Utilitarianism is a relativist, consequentialist and teleological system of ethics based on the idea of ‘utility’. This means usefulness and utilitarian suggest that everyone should be the most useful thing. The theory was devised by Jeremy Bentham who said “an action is right if it produces the greatest good for the greatest number”. He believed human beings are motivated by pleasure and pain.…

    • 972 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Utilitarianism claims that everyone shares a common intrinsic value of happiness and that because this is seen as the most important value in life, we should try to maximize…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are 2 main types of utilitarianism, the first I will talk about is Rule. Rule utilitarianism has certain principles involved with it, and from these, certain actions that we commit are able to be deemed as unacceptable. The principle of utility is therefore applied to a rule so the rule will stay if it leads to greater happiness for more people. This therefore means that if you do something bad that may lead to many people being happy, it could go against a rule or principle that has been set down in Rule…

    • 616 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Occupy Wall Street

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Utilitarian is the moral doctrine that we should always act to produce the greatest possible balance of good over bad for everyone affected by our actions. The greatest happiness of all constitutes the standard that determines whether an action is right or wrong. Our belief that we are individuals and society is the net result of our choices. For example, the practice of blowing up rocks to release underground natural gas would not be permitted near residential areas if energy complaints…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Utilitarianism is a philosophy in which the ends justify the means, or in which the morality of an action is determined by the function that follows the action. Although Utilitarianism has many good principals that are both logical and appealing, the contradictions of the philosophy make it incompatible with Christian ethics. The moral standards that utilitarianism is supposedly based on only work when a person doesn't consider the personal emotions that might hinder or get in the way of what the end result of the action is. The function may not be changed or diverted according to the philosophy. It also cannot change when someone does not think about the bigger picture in perspective to the function.…

    • 1087 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays