Utilitarianism Is Wrong And Consequentialism

Essentially, consequentialism tries to rationalize a situation by saying that the right action would be the one with the most number of good consequences and most beneficial for the individuals involved (youtube.com) (bbc.co.uk). Reason in consequentialism, does not differentiate the right and wrong, but rather it crafts out the different consequences and options. Thus, people are able to reach a conclusion as to what to do through deductive reasoning, where they deduce the right action (conclusion) from consequences

For utilitarian philosophers, happiness is the supreme value of life. John Stuart Mill defines Utilitarianism as a theory based on the principle that “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain and privation of pleasure” (Mill, Utilitarianism). This meaning that utilitarianism is determined by the calculation of happiness, in which actions are deemed to be good if they tend to produce pleasure, a form of happiness. On the contrary, they are evil if they tend to promote pain. Not only does Mill regard to the end product of happiness in actions, but also considers the motives of such actions. In his argument, Mill defends the idea that happiness as the underlying basis of morality, and that people desire nothing but happiness.

As mentioned above, consequentialism is contrasted with theories of moral evaluation. It implies that consequences may not be pertinent to the morality of one's actions. Consequentialism lessens the moral quality of an action to the goodness of its consequences (WirelessPhilosophy, 2015). For instance, one ought to keep a promise although the secret does not promote the good.

If I were to describe consequentialism in my own words, it would be that one basically bases their tough moral decisions on whether they think the immediate results will outweigh the consequences that could possibly follow. This honestly describes how I make many of my decisions as myself being a very impulsive extrovert who barely stops to think when deciding to do things that many would linger over much longer. Even though I have some moral compass

1. Consequentialist moral theories see the moral rightness or wrongness of actions as a function of their results. If the consequences are sufficiently good, the action is right; if they are sufficiently bad, the action is wrong. However, nonconsequentialist theories see other factors as also relevant to the determination of right and wrong.

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that is centered around the notion of utility. According to this theory the best choice is one that maximizes total utility. The principle, in essence, is the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people. John Stuart Mill defines happiness as, “intended pleasure and the absence of pain” (241) Mill asserts that the more noble pleasures in life are those that are mental and not bodily. A guiding principle of utilitarianism is the struggle between quality and quantity of utility that results from an action.

Two examples or branches of consequentialism are egoism and utilitarianism. The definition of utilitarianism is simply, doing the most good for the most people. The definition of egoism is the habit of valuing everything only in reference to one's personal interest; selfishness. Egoism is simply about you and you’re self-interest compared to utilitarianism is looking at others interests. There are pros and cons to each branch; however I personally think egoism is the better model. Both represent or contain an aspect of ethics but, egoism I believe is reflected or more related to the average person in everyday life.

Consequentialist or teleological consideration is about result of an action, which can affect an act by an individual or a group. ( T&K, p.30). There are two types of major consequentialist ethical theories are ethical egoism and Utilitarianism.

Consequentialism therefore states that an act, which maximises goodness, is the act that must be carried out and this is how an individual must live. Unlike virtue ethics, Consequentialism will ask question such as ‘What are the consequences of a particular action’ and ‘Who will benefit the most from a particular action, and will another action be better suited’. We can look at Consequentialism in two ways

-Consequentialism, where we are morally required to do what would produce the best outcome(i.e.-what happens);

Summary: The Consequentialist Theory focus on the idea that we must tally both the good and bad consequences of an action to determine if it's morally right. According to this Theory if the consequences of that action are more favorable than unfavorable then it's should be morally right. The Consequentialist theory contains three subdivisions ,which are Ethical Egoism, Ethical Altruism, and Utilitarianism. All three of these subdivisions focus on the consequences of actions for different groups of people.

Consequentialism is one of the three main normative ethical theories alongside virtue theory and deontology. In general, consequentialism holds that the right thing to do in any situation is determined completely by its consequences. This includes everything that will happen in the world as a result of the action.

The first thing to consider is what makes an act right or permissible, namely, what are the normative properties of its nature. The answer that Consequentialist moral theories propose appeals to the maximisation of the good, which is said to be the best overall outcome. It relies on the instrumentalist view that an action is valuable because of what it can produce, which is to say that performing an action is right when, among the actions available to the agent, it

Utilitarianism, also known as consequentialism, is a theory where actions are considered good or bad depending on the consequences of the actions, not the motives. In Utilitarianism, the main goal of the theory is to maximize the most amount of good for all people.

Consequentialism is a philosophical theory which centers on leaving the world, or state of affairs, in the best state possible. Consequentialism embodies the saying, “does the end justify the means.” Consequentialists believe that a person should not worry about the actions, which they must partake in as long as the consequences of those actions lead to the best possible outcome available to them. The theory does not stop at individual actions, it goes further to include the actions of others, when those actions could have been avoided through your own, as being under your control and responsibility. As consequentialism develops as a theory, the practicality of its implementation is questioned, critics tending to entrench themselves using integrity and its role as a central part of their stance. One of the main scholars opposing consequentialism is Bernard Williams, who brings up many interesting points in his work, Consequentialism and Integrity.