The Between Utilitarianism And Deontology

The word deontology comes from the Greek word “deontos” which means duty (Adams, 2011). Deontology can be defined as doing what is morally correct regardless of the final results as long as they abide by the moral principles. Certain actions, like lying, are never allowed regardless if its outcomes benefit the purpose and no harm is caused. The theory states that whether an action is ethical and follows the moral rules, depends on the intentions behind the decisions (Pieper, 2008). So for an action to be “good” and morally right, it must have been performed at goodwill and abide to moral values.

“Deontology is a moral theory that emphasizes one’s duty to do a particular action just because the action, itself, is inherently right and not through any other sorts of calculations – such as the consequences of the action” (Boylan, 2009, p. 171). In many aspects deontology is contrasted with utilitarianism. Deontology is based upon principle and does not calculate the consequences (Boylan, 2009, p. 171). Deontology attracts those seeking a stronger moral attraction because it refers to commanding rather than commending and commanding is a stronger structure (Boylan, 2009, p. 172). The

In the context of research, ethics is defined as the systems of moral principles that guide human action (1). Ethics is the reflection of the societies ideals of what is right and wrong. It is required in order for research to be valid and published for an ethics committee to evaluate the proposed research question, design and implementations and provide approval in order for a research project to be considered ethical.

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.

Deontology is what some will see as a duty. With utilitarianism a person will do the right thing if the consequences of their actions are good. But with this reasoning if the actions are not good but the consequences happen to be good the act may be believed that this is a good ethical act. Police officer have a duty to do and lawyers ethically act good to make their client just as happy.

According to theory of utilitarianism an action is ethically right if its lead to happiness, and wrong if it ends in unhappiness. The general concept behind Virtue Ethics is that it emphasizes on what the individual should select fortheir own personal behavior instead of the individual depending solely on theexternal laws and customs of the person's culture. Deontological thinking isconstructed on the fact that we have a duty to do certain things and to not do certainthings. Deontologists do not look at how much good might be caused by an action.They look at the action itself, deciding whether it is prohibited or made obligatoryby one of their rules.

Before we get to the premises of my argument, I would like to distinguish the difference between virtue ethics, Kantian deontology and utilitarianism. Unlike virtue ethics, Kantian and utilitarianism tell us what our duty is to our fellow human beings. In utilitarianism the goal is to increase happiness for the greatest number of people. This often requires self-sacrifice and it can be quite demanding to figure out what decision will have the best consequence and the most happiness. Kantian ethics, on the other hand tells us to do what would be universally acceptable. Meaning that something is morally right if every single person in the planet is allowed to do the

Utilitarianism is the principle that the correct form of action be taken to benefit the greatest number of people. Deontology is defined as the area of ethics involving the responsibility, moral duty and commitment. Both utilitarianism and deontology deal with the ethics and consequences of one’s actions and behavior despite the outcome.

“Without God as the foundation for intrinsic human dignity and moral duties, no ethical system can ultimately be sustained” (McQuilkin & Copan, 2014, p. 170). As a Christian, one would have no reason to argue this point. Created in His image, Christians believe that their choices, their knowledge of right and wrong comes from God. However, there are those who view moral and ethics without God as the foundation; in fact, they eliminate God’s influence altogether. Two of these views are Immanuel Kant’s Deontology, and Utilitarianism.

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.

In South Park, South Park illustrates normative ethics in society and people. The characters and scenarios are well scripted to categorize the three main theories of normative ethics; utilitarianism, deontology and virtue ethics. The show constantly displays the universal mindsets of multiple people within various situations and how one effects the other and the world. Majority of these scenarios, virtue ethics brings about the best results for those within the South Park community and the main characters. In the following, I will argue why virtue ethics is the most effective theory to always follow of all theories and how always following a utilitarianism and deontology approach can cause conflict within oneself and society.

Kant’s theory of deontology and Mill’s theory of utilitarianism provide starkly different approaches to assigning moral value to ethical dilemmas, two modern dilemmas being commercial surrogacy and physician-assisted suicide. This essay will expound upon the process of deciding moral value within each ethical theory and then apply this decision process to the two ethical dilemmas. Arguments will be posited in support or in opposition to the proposed ethical dilemmas according to the ethical theories. The discussion will revolve around the theories as proposed by the specific authors mentioned above in their relevant works.

Describe the main principles of the two normative ethical theories of deontology and utilitarianism. Compare and contrast the two theories, bringing out any problems or limitations you see in each.

Throughout life, individuals are often faced with a multitude of moral dilemmas which can be difficult to assess given the factors of the situation and consequences, based on what is right and wrong. In this paper I will be assessing the Trolley Problem in relation to Utilitarianism and Deontology and will conclude which theory is the best way to behave given the situation. In the first paragraph, I will begin by discussing the Trolley Problem followed by the next paragraph’s which will explaining how Utilitarianism and Deontology would approach the situation. Furthermore, I will be discussing which theory I believe is right in regards to the best way to behaving in society, given the possible outcomes of the problem. Since the moral issue of killing and letting die are close in hand, Deontology is the only explainable way to behave because this theory approaches all situations in regard to what is fair and acceptable for all, while Utilitarianism takes an approach that degrades humanity and differs from person to person.

Business is a changing scenario and it has different principles and rules in different environments. To perform a business, there is required a set of principles and rules to be based, so that the actions taken are proper and produce the desired results. (Shoemaker, 1999)Utilitarianism is an ethical theory for ranking various outcome from interpersonal stand point .it is a concept which is based on the theory of performing the right action to produce the right consequence where the benefits are maximised and sufferings are reduced to a minimum. (Gaus, 2001)Deontology is a theory in which only right making properties are good promoting properties. Which is based on being acting based o morality and having a correct motive which ends in all good and no bad.