Preview

Utilitarianism Vs Deontology Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
447 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Utilitarianism Vs Deontology Essay
Utilitarianism and deontology are two moral theories that can often pull us in different direction. Utilitarianism is the ethical doctrine that virtue is based on utility, and that conduct should be directed toward promoting the greatest happiness of the greatest number of persons. This can be viewed as a contingent right. Contingent means something that could happen or come up depending on other occurrences. An example of a contingent right is the unexpected need for a bandage on a hike. The bandage is what the hiker needs and it will bring happiness to the person. Deontology is an ethical theory that the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a series of rules, rather than based on the consequences of the action. This can be viewed as a fundamental right. These are rights that humans have by the fact of being …show more content…
A utilitarian approach to deception would consider whether telling a lie creates greater happiness than telling the truth or keeping silent. If it does, then it is morally right. If it doesn’t, then it is morally wrong. A deontological example to deception is Kant rules out making a false promise as immoral because it involves a contradiction in conception. The same applies to lying in general. If you lie, you are following the maxim to tell a lie when you want to. If everyone told lies when they wanted to, people would stop believing each other. But you can deceive someone with a lie only if they believe you. So the maxim cannot be universalized, and lying is wrong. In the occidental case, an example of deception would be how Deborah implicitly acknowledges Wayne's claim that it would be wrong for him to lie about test results by formulating for him a statement he can assent to. They both come to different conclusions about what should be done and both are acting out of good

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Eth 501 Module 1

    • 1654 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Everyone has the duty to make the right decision or action. The question with deontological ethics, however, is to whom or what is that duty. Utilitarian ethics have an easier way of determining the choice or decision at hand. What maximizes the most amount of good for the most amount of people? Deontological ethics, however, makes decision independent of consequences for the majority or for one’s self. A deontologist makes a decision because it is right. Also, deontological decisions are found to be moral only if the motivation is moral. If the motivation is not ethical, then the action itself is not ethical regardless of how much good was done in the process of doing that action. (Deontological ethics,…

    • 1654 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    As according to the Merriam-Webster, and Kantian ethics, Deontology is defined as the ethical idea of judging the morality of actions based on their adherence to the rules (Merriam-Webster 2013). In simpler terms, this means that actions are judged on whether or not society, or god, or any predetermined standard believes them to be okay. People must act from duty. For example, a Deontologist, or someone who practices Deontology, from the 1850s would judge slavery to be acceptable (Slavery in the United States 2013). However, a Deontologist today would not consider slavery to be acceptable, or in other words, would consider it morality forbidden. This change in judgment is due to the fact that slavery was considered to be widely acceptable in society in the 1850s but now it is considered widely unacceptable. Another principle of Deontology is that the humanity principle, which states that you…

    • 1233 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Deontological theory claims that there are consequences in our actions that determine whether or not they are the right choice for the circumstance, and or person involved. The consequences can be defined by the actions of the extent to moral duties. For example, driving while intoxicated relates the ethical theory or commandment that“above all do no harm. These are duties which are born from religion, metaphysics, psychology, culture, biology, and language. Depending on the deontological theory, these are duties which will have no exceptions. Either it can overcome by a more important duty, or conditional. It does not matter if the intoxicated driver made it home safely. Driving drunk was still wrong because a person knows they have to drive.…

    • 291 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eth316 Week 1 Assignment

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Having a full understanding of the similarities and difference between deontological ethics, virtue theory, and utilitarianism begins with by explaining every ethic theory. With deontology ethic theories is that there is a vital importance on the relations between liability and the principles of actions, which human take. The virtue theory is defined as humanizing excellence in life and founding an characteristic of a good person. Utilitarianism is a theory that states that an action is right when that action can create more help for yourself or group than other back up actions.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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 (Boylan, 2009). Calculations like what the consequences of that action might be. Deontology is a duty-based theory when addressing ethics and morality.…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    UNV 100

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The definition of deontological is that of relating to moral theories. It also relates to the philosophical theories that states moral content of an action is not wholly dependent on its consequences.…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Utilitarianism is a theory in normative ethics holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes overall happiness. Utilitarianism can be characterized as a quantitative and reductionist approach to ethics. It can be contrasted with deontological ethics which does not regard the consequences of an act as a determinant of its moral worth.…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Deontology: A nonconsequentialist ethical theory that claims an act is to be evaluated in terms ofits accordance with a specified set of rules. (Mosser, 2013)Virtue Ethics: An ethical theory that focuses on the character of the agent in evaluating moral behavior, in contrast to utilitarianism or deontology; often associated with Aristotle. (Mosser, 2013)Utilitarianism: A consequentialist ethical theory that evaluates moral claims in terms of their outcomes and to the extent these outcomes generate the greatest benefit for the greatest number. (Mosser, 2013)I was at the grocery store checking out in the self checkout lane, and I noticed that A single mom and her 3 kids were having to take out items because she had reached her limit, I noticed…

    • 218 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Choices are morally required, forbidden, or permitted. Deontology is a moral theory that guides our choices and assesses what kind of person we are or should be; dependent on rules, moral laws, and intuition.…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Deontology is an ethical theory that only focuses on the act itself, not on the actions the act itself will bring about. Deontologists do acknowledge that actions bring on certain reactions but do not believe the reaction should be taken into consideration when determining if an act was moral or not. “Deontology, taken in its largest sense, is meant that branch of art and science which has for its object the doing on each occasion what is right and proper to be done “(Louden, 1996). Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative takes this and breaks it down into rules and with these rules assumes that all people are moral. These rules have no “but” to them, they are straightforward, basically if you do this, you are moral or immoral. For example, if you kill someone, no matter if it is in self-defense or cold blooded then the person is considered immoral. This theory is not complicated and very to the point, it is easy to follow and has many supporters.…

    • 756 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The word deontology means the science of duty. Immanuel Kant, the philosopher most associated with deontology, defined a person as a reasonable, uncontrolled being who has the capacity to recognize moral laws and the power to decide to act morally or immorally, according to his/her duty (1785/2012). A person’s decisions are made by respecting others; this is our duty as humans. Kant further expanded on duty by distinguishing two types, hypothetical and categorical imperatives. Categorical imperatives are duties that are pure, outright and absolute. There are two questions Kant formulated in relation to categorical imperatives that can be asked when deciding if an action is right or wrong. Can this action be applied to every circumstance as universal law? Is the action being taken a means to an end? If the answer to the first is yes and the second no, then according to Kant, the action is morally right…

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Good and Evil in High Noon

    • 1373 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In contrast to this theory is Deontology attributed to philosopher Immanuel Kant. Where a utilitarian focuses on the outcome of an action to determine the ethical choice, Deontology dictates the choice, action, or means themselves must be ethical regardless of the outcome.…

    • 1373 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ethics Test Question The two major theories we encounter in ethics are utilitarianism and deontological ethics. These two forms of ethics differ greatly. Utilitarianism is the ideal moral principle. This form of ethics believes that a certain action or choice is based upon one’s feelings.…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Action we take must have consequences whether good or bad. Utilitarianism is a theory that focuses on consequences that will bring about the best possible outcome of any situation, in terms of individuality or people, this means some sort of pleasure and happiness must be the result. On the other hand, deontology focus on the doing the right thing, were your intentions will be understood based on the right thing where everyone in your position would do the same, more like a universal command of doing good without concentrating on the consequences. We look at utilitarianism and deontology in more detail and express which theory I find more convincing. And summing up the theories in the conclusion.…

    • 1004 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The word deontology comes from the Greek word deon, meaning duty. According to this theory, it is your duty to do actions which are right and not do those which are wrong. Actions are thought to be right or wrong in themselves. For example, killing people and lying are wrong, sharing with others who are in need is right. Immanuel Kant was a famous deontologist.…

    • 8490 Words
    • 34 Pages
    Better Essays