Consequentialist and Deontological Ethics – CUET PG Philosophy – Notes

Consequentialist and Deontological Ethics

Normative ethics is a branch of moral philosophy concerned with establishing criteria for what is morally right and wrong. It seeks to provide a framework for guiding human conduct and answering the fundamental question: “How ought one to live?”. Within this field, two of the most prominent and historically significant approaches are Consequentialism and Deontology. These two families of theories offer fundamentally different answers to what gives an action its moral worth. Consequentialism locates morality in the outcome of an action, while Deontology locates it in the nature of the action itself, specifically in its adherence to a rule or duty.

The Fundamental Divide: Consequences vs. Duties

At the heart of the debate is the source of moral value. Imagine a situation where a doctor can save five patients by harvesting the organs of one healthy, unsuspecting person. What is the right thing to do?

• A consequentialist perspective might argue that saving five lives at the cost of one results in the best overall outcome (five saved, one lost). The morality of the act is determined solely by its consequences. The end-saving more lives-could justify the means.
• A deontological perspective would likely argue that killing an innocent person is inherently wrong, regardless of the goop consequences it might produce. There is a duty not to murder, a rule that must be followed. The act of killing is wrong in itself, making the consequences irrelevant to its moral status.

This simple, albeit extreme, example illustrates the core difference. Consequentialist theories are teleological (from the Greek telos, meaning end or goal), as they are goal-oriented. Deontological theories are non-teleological, as they are not focused on achieving a particular goal but on adhering to duties (from the Greek deon, meaning duty).

Utilitarianism: The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number

Utilitarianism is the most influential form of consequentialism. Its central tenet is the Principle of Utility, also known as the Greatest Happiness Principle. This principle states that actions are morally right to the extent that they tend to promote happiness and morally wrong to the extent that they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. For utilitarians, “happiness” is the ultimate intrinsic good, and “unhappiness” or suffering is the ultimate intrinsic evil.

Core Principles of Utilitarianism

1. Consequentialism: The rightness or wrongness of an act is determined exclusively by its consequences. The intention or character of the agent is secondary.
2. Hedonism/Welfarism: The only thing that is good in itself is happiness, pleasure, or well-being (utility). The only thing bad in itself is pain, suffering, or the absence of well-being (disutility). 
3. Impartiality and Aggregation: Each person’s happiness counts equally. The theory requires an agent to be a “strictly impartial” and “disinterested spectator.” The overall utility is calculated by aggregating the happiness and unhappiness of all individuals affected by the action.

Action → Calculation of Consequences (Pleasure vs. Pain) → Greatest Happiness for Greatest Number →Moral Worth