consequentialism
Ends justify means
Consequentialism is the ethical theory that actions should be judged by their outcomes rather than their intentions or inherent nature.
An act is right if it produces good consequences, wrong if it produces bad ones.
The most familiar form is utilitarianism, which aims to maximize overall happiness or well-being.
Critics argue consequentialism can justify troubling means if the ends are good enough: Consequentialism would permit lying to save a life.
Morality based on obligations
- normativeSetting behavioral standards
- teleologyStudy of purpose in nature
- ethical frameworkSystem of moral principles
- rights-basedGrounded in inherent claims
Kant · categorical imperative · moral calculus · ends justify means · intrinsic value · moral obligation · ethical reasoning · competing theories
Greatest-happiness moral theory
- happinessJoyful emotional state
- pleasureHappy, satisfied feeling
- hedonismPursuit of gratification
- BenthamUtilitarian ethics founder
Mill · welfare · well-being · utility · satisfaction · felicific calculus · quality of life · hedonic
Act of selecting
- deliberationCareful weighing of choices
- alternativesOther available options
- judgmentReasoned decision-making capacity
- cost-benefit analysisSystematic comparison of advantages, disadvantages
optimization · strategy · priority · calculation · rational choice · moral calculus · impartiality
What follows from effort
- effectsConsequences or belongings
- implicationsSuggested but unspoken meanings
- aftermathResults following an event
- repercussionsIndirect results of actions
ramifications · fallout · upshot · corollary · payoff · side-effect · cost-benefit · trade-off
Breach of protected entitlements
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- scapegoatingUnfairly assigning fault to innocents
- ends justify meansOutcomes legitimize any methods
- backward-lookingOriented toward the past
Belief in external truths
- subjectivismBelief truth is personal
- naturalismWorldview excluding the supernatural
- non-cognitivismMoral statements lack truth-values
- cognitivismTheory prioritizing mental processes
relativism · universalism · pluralism · intuitionism · prescriptivism · foundationalism
deontology
Morality based on obligations
- normativeSetting behavioral standards
- teleologyStudy of purpose in nature
- ethical frameworkSystem of moral principles
rights-based · Kant · categorical imperative · moral calculus · ends justify means · intrinsic value · moral obligation · ethical reasoning · competing theories · trolley problem
utilitarianism
Greatest-happiness moral theory
Bentham · Mill · welfare · well-being · utility · satisfaction · felicific calculus · quality of life · hedonic · maximization
choice
Act of selecting
- deliberationCareful weighing of choices
- alternativesOther available options
- judgmentReasoned decision-making capacity
cost-benefit analysis · optimization · strategy · priority · calculation · rational choice · moral calculus · impartiality
results
What follows from effort
- effectsConsequences or belongings
- implicationsSuggested but unspoken meanings
- aftermathResults following an event
repercussions · ramifications · fallout · upshot · corollary · payoff · side-effect · cost-benefit · trade-off · expected value
rights violation
Breach of protected entitlements
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- scapegoatingUnfairly assigning fault to innocents
- ends justify meansOutcomes legitimize any methods
objectivism
Belief in external truths
- subjectivismBelief truth is personal
- naturalismWorldview excluding the supernatural
- non-cognitivismMoral statements lack truth-values
cognitivism · relativism · universalism · pluralism · intuitionism · prescriptivism · foundationalism
- ismscapitalism, socialism, communism, anarchism, racism
- ethicsmorality, deontology, dignity, sanctity of life, utilitarianism
- moral philosophymoral philosophy, moral judgment, moral reasoning, moral principles, moral conduct
- philosophiesempiricism, stoicism, nihilism, idealism, materialism
- philosophyethics, logic, metaphysics, ontology, epistemology
- philosophy termstruth, reason, knowledge, wisdom, logic