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

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory which acts as a guideline on how people should act in certain situations and was first introduced by a hedonist (pursuer of pleasure) named Jeremy Bentham who put forward the ‘Principle of Utility’ which said “The greatest happiness for the greatest number”. Utilitarianism is a theory which bases on the end purpose (teleological) of achieving pleasure, our decisions should be based on consequences in pursuit of the principle of utility (consequentialist) and is a theory which judges each situation independently (relativistic).

Utilitarianism is a theory which states that an action that brings the most good to the majority of people is the only action that is morally just (114). Utilitarianism is an old theory which has developed over the years (Driver, 2014). The two most important philosophers that gave birth to this theory were Jeremy Bentham and John Mill (Ibid). These two philosophers, who lived in the 18th and the 19th century, believed that human beings should always try to do something that would be the most beneficial not to just yourself, but to as many people as you can (Ibid). The utilitarianism that these Bentham and Mill worked on is currently

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

Traditional utilitarianism is a theory of the good and the right. It defends that the greatest good is happiness and freedom from pain and suffering. According to utilitarianism only one action is right in the final analysis. The things we do that produces happiness is morally right and the things we do that reduce this happiness is morally wrong. If the rewards are far greater when compared to the eventual rewards of other alternative decisions, than this action would be right. The future and the direct costs and benefits provided by each alternate towards each person need to be taken into consideration together with other unforeseen consequences. A tradition stemming from the late 18th- and 19th-century English philosophers and economists Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill believe that an action is right if it leans towards happiness and wrong if it leans towards the reverse of happiness—not just the happiness of the person doing the action but also that of everyone else that may be affected by it. One must consider the benefits to others as well as your own and that everyone’s happiness and utility count the same. In contrast to egoism which is the view that a person should pursue his own self-interest, even at the expense of others, and to any ethical theory that regards some acts or types of acts as right or wrong independently of their consequences. Utilitarianism also differs from ethical theories that make the truth or injustice of

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.

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.

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,

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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).

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.