Consequentialism

While consequentialist logic forges a conceptual link between right action and consequences, deontological logic forges a conceptual link between right action and a moral rule. This paper will take the position that virtue ethics avoids the drawbacks of both consequentialism and deontology, and therefore provides us with the best response to the question of abortion. In order to do so, this paper will proceed three-fold. First, this paper will defend one consequentialist argument for abortion, using a thought experiment to illustrate the point. Subsequently, this paper will consider one reply from a deontological point of view. Lastly, this paper will show how virtue ethics is able to avoid the drawbacks of both the traditional approaches by reformulating the abortion question. A consequentialist argument premised on utility justifies having an abortion. Indeed, general consequentialist logic is founded on the proposition that, “an action is right iff it promote the best consequences.” The consequentialist logic varies insofar as there are different responses to the question, “What are the best consequences?” To limit the scope of this paper, this paper will use an act utilitarian…

Consequentialism is first to be considered when attempting to explain the issue of concern for this analysis. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill were famous philosophers who advocated this theory in their own works. Consequentialism is grounded on the theory that rightness is based on the consequences of an act and not the act itself. This theory is in contrast to deontology, which focuses on acts and duties an individual strove to fulfill as determinates of rightness. For further…

Consequentialism is a normative ethics theory whereby the ends justify the means; in other words, the consequence of an action justifies the moral acceptability of an action of the means taken to reach that end. It provides criteria and rules for moral evaluation and decision making. In the situation of a moral dilemma, consequentialism is a form of guidance that makes a person choose an action that creates the maximum amount of good. The rightness or wrongness of an action is irrelevant,…

Through the course of philosophy 210, we have been exposed to many different theories that reward one aspect on what morality. The most recent one, Ross theory of right conduct, which gives a very different aspect on morality as the past theories. In this paper, it will be explain and review Ross theory of right conduct, how it differs from all the other theories, and how we can apply it. The main difference between Ross theory of right conduct and the previously viewed moral theories, such…

For many years there has been a debate between the opposing philosophical frameworks consequentialism and deontology. Some could argue that consequentialisms maxim of "the ends justify the means” as the determinant for a moral action may be inconsistent with other important aspects of value such as rights and allegiance. Others may argue that deontology is simply too restrictive and independent of the context in which it could be applied to. Although these two philosophical frameworks have…

have justifications for why they do certain things. Some justifications are based off of happiness, desires, god or morals. People who use happiness and desires as their justification use theories of the good. While those who use god and morals use theories of morality. Some theories that fall into the theories of morality are the divine command theory, consequentialism, and social contract theory. I will argue that act consequentialism is the most plausible moral theory because it better…

heory that grants justification. Consequentialism is the theory that any action is justified if the consequences of the said action is also just. Although it is a logical theroy, we must not depend on consequentialism as a moral factor when it comes to judging other people. This is because judging an act by a consequence can actually bend the meaning of morality by justifying potentially horrible motives, which limits our view on justice. To recognize these facts, we can look at the novel, The…

Decision Making Certainly, in one point of our life we have questioned ourselves on how to accomplish the most accurate decision in a moral dilemma. There are several philosophical ideologies that suggest that decision making for the given scenario (the two cancer patients) should be based on their own method of analysis as to what is morally correct. Today, we are going to focus in the Deontology theory and the two Consequentialism theories; called Act-Utilitarianism and Rule-Utilitarianism,…

The purpose of this essay will be to examine a complex moral case through the lens of the theories of Classical Act Utilitarianism and Rule Consequentialism. The theories will be compared and evaluated based on how they apply to the moral case. The situation that will ultimately be the basis to compare Classical Act Utilitarianism (AU) and Rule Consequentialism (RC), is the story of Jim. During a trip to South Africa, Jim finds himself to be a little lost and disoriented and in the wrong small…

It might as well be noticed that utilitarianism totally evades a problem that has snowed under numerous challenges to justify abortion from a more conservative moral outline. When is it occasionally allowable to kill? What 's the difference between a serial killer who murders their victims for pleasure or financial gain or homosexual? Where 's the separating line between this and murdering a fetus or an adult? We can apply consequentialism all over the place because all decisions have computable…