Similarities and Differences in Virtue Theory, Utilitarianism, and Deontological Ethics Eth/316

Utilitarianism, in the contrary, is based on the principle of utility or usefulness. Utility is what encourages an agent to act in a particular way (Tuckett, 1998). Utility can be explained as maximizing the good like pleasure and happiness and minimizing the bad like pain and evil, all leading to the greater good for all parties involved. It weights the consequences of the actions equally between the ones involved, and the ethical solution would be to follow the greater good for most if not all the parties involved.

The ethical theories of deontology and the branches of utilitarianism; act and rule, display similarities and differences within the meanings of both. Act utilitarianism theory is the focus on the outcome of an act. Rule utilitarianism is the method of an individual’s actions. The theories of deontology and utilitarianism both present moral rules and values. Deontology focuses on the motives of an action, whereas utilitarianism centers more on the end result. The Act utilitarianism theory is more effective by judging the morality of an action based on the consequences of its outcome.

Deontology is an ethical theory concerned with duties and rights. The founder of deontological ethics was a German philosopher named Immanuel Kant. Kant’s deontological perspective implies people are sensitive to moral duties that require or prohibit certain behaviors, irrespective of the consequences (Tanner, Medin, & Iliev, 2008). The main focus of deontology is duty: deontology is derived from the Greek word deon, meaning duty. A duty is morally mandated action, for instance, the duty never to lie and always to keep your word. Based on Kant, even when individuals do not want to act on duty they are ethically obligated to do so (Rich, 2008).

The deontological view is about the motivation of any action and cautiously conscious of how these actions are carried out. In contrast, the teleological approach focuses more on end results and can potentially ignore the setbacks and negative aspects of the process that leads to said results. It is the deontological view that places a considerable emphasis on duty in terms of moral decision making. The ends do not justify means—an approach that is disregarded by the teleological view that accepts all means necessary for a desired consequence (Newton, 2008). In this scenario of

Deontology can be defined as “moral theories that guide and assess our choices of what we ought to do, in contrast to other theories that guide and assess what kind of person we are should be (Alexander & Moore, 2007). Consequentialism “argues that the morality of an action is based on the action’s outcome or consequence, the action’s outcome or consequence, a morally right action is one that produces a good outcome or result, and the consequences of an action or rule generally outweigh all other considerations” (Anonymous, n.d.). These two theories differ in various ways. While deontology focuses in the rightness and wrongness of one’s intent to conform to duty or laws, consequentialism emphasizes on the potential outcomes and

Utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory that holds the morally right course of action in any given situation is the course of which yields the greatest balance of benefits over harms. More specifically, utilitarianism’s core idea is that the effects of an action determine whether actions are morally right or wrong. Created with the philosophies of Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873), Utilitarianism began in England in the 19th Century. Bentham and Mill built their system of Utilitarianism on ancient hedonism (pursuing physical pleasure and avoiding physical pain). Although both of these philosophers agreed on the basic principals of Utilitarianism they disagreed on what exactly hedonism is.

In this essay, I will present Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics, provide an objection to each, explain how an adherent would respond to both objections, and then evaluate why I believe that Utilitarianism is better at capturing the essence of mortality than Virtue Ethics.

Defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, utilitarianism is “a doctrine that the useful is the good and that the determining consideration of right conduct should be the usefulness of its consequences; specifically: a theory that the aim of action should be the largest possible balance of pleasure over pain or the greatest happiness of the greatest number” (Webster). The idea of utilitarianism is founded from the Principle of Utility which has three simple ideas. The first idea is the belief that our actions should have the best possible outcomes. The second idea is the belief that our actions will bring the most amount of benefit and cause the least amount of harm to people. The last idea is the belief that everyone’s happiness is just as

Utilitarianism is a theory in normative ethics that is concerned with overall happiness. Jeremy Bentham states that, “A thing is said to promote the interest, or to be for the interest, of an individual, when it tends to add to the sum total of his pleasures: or, what comes to the same thing,

There is an ethical epidemic that is plaguing this world and it is called Human Trafficking. Human trafficking is a serious crime that violates common human rights by trading humans and forcing them to complete acts of coerced labor, or sex slavery. It is the 2nd largest criminal operation in the world next to the drug cartel and it is done to make money off these innocent lives (Ottisova, 2016). The illegal trade and exploitation of human beings for forced labor, prostitution and reproductive favors is unethical and unacceptable by our society because many United States organizations are starting to work together to stop these intolerable acts to end the suffering and pain.

There are a few ethical and moral dilemmas that allow people to not only think but also to respond in different manners. Some individuals form decisions and perceptions based on dissimilar philosophical theories. This essay will discuss deontology and utilitarianism the two theories attempt to give the answer to moral dilemmas. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill came up with the moral theory named Utilitarianism it proposes that a deed can be ethically correct if, and only if, the act gives more pleasure or utility than any other course of action that may be performed. A "good" action is simply one that point to the greatest total happiness. A deontological principle, in addition, discusses moral decisions from a very different point of view.

The study of the nature of duty and obligation a non-consequentialist moral right and wrong not dependent on outcome our means are more important.

Utilitarianism is an attractive philosophy which claims to replace arbitrary-seeming rules by a morality with a single coherent basis. As the most common form of consequentialism, based on the pursuit of the greatest happiness of the greatest number, it argues that acts should be judged as right or wrong according to their consequences. Because happiness is the only thing that is good in itself, and unhappiness is the only thing that is inherently bad, everything else is only good or bad according to its tendency to produce happiness or unhappiness. In a business type system, utilitarianism is also attractive as a means of decision-making in which the majority must choose wisely. This type of decision making may have a positive effect on what action to take, but at the same time it might have a cost that would not be taken lightly by a business.

Utilitarianism is one of the most commonly used ethical theories from the time it was formulated by Jeremy Bentham and John Stewart Mill in the nineteenth century. In his work, Utilitarianism, Bentham “sought to dispel misconceptions that morality has nothing to do with usefulness or utility or that morality is opposed to pleasure” (MacKinnon, 2012, p. 53). To simplify the utilitarian principle, which is one of utility, one can surmise that morality is equated with the greatest amount of utility or good for the greatest number of people (MacKinnon, 2012). Also, with its orientation to the “end or goal of actions” (MacKinnon, 2012, p. 54), Utilitarianism thus, espouses the consequentialist principle, e.g., the evaluation of any human act lies not so much in the nature of the act or the drive behind the act but rather the result of the act (MacKinnon, 2012).

Deontological Ethics is an Approach to Ethics that decides goodness from looking at acts, or the standards and obligations that the individual doing the demonstration strove to satisfy. This is in Contrast to Insignificant, in which rightness is in view of the Consequences of a demonstration, and not the demonstration without anyone else. In Deontology, a demonstration may be viewed as right regardless of the fact that the demonstration creates a terrible result, in the event that it takes after the standard that one ought to do unto others as they would have done unto them", and regardless of the possibility that the individual who does the demonstration needs Virtue and had an awful goal