consequentialist
Judges acts by results
A consequentialist judges actions by their outcomes rather than by rules or intentions.
If the results are good, the action was right; if harmful, wrong.
The term belongs to moral philosophy but appears in everyday debate: She took a consequentialist view—the lie was justified because it prevented greater harm.
Compare with deontologist, who follows principles regardless of outcome.
Results of actions taken
- resultsWhat follows from effort
- effectsConsequences or belongings
- impactsForceful contacts or influences
- endsTermini or concludes
aftermath · repercussions · ramifications · fallout · upshot · side-effects · cost-benefit · optimization
Functional worth or purpose
- happinessJoyful emotional state
- pleasureHappy, satisfied feeling
- welfareComfort and prosperity
- well-beingState of health, contentment
Bentham · Mill · hedonism · altruism · felicific calculus
Right and wrong principles
- normativeSetting behavioral standards
- rightnessState of being correct
- wrongnessState of being incorrect
- goodnessMoral excellence
badness · duty · obligation · principle · virtue · justice · fairness · responsibility
Suited for real use
- results-orientedPrioritizing measurable accomplishments
- expedientUseful if not ideal
- effectiveProducing intended results
- strategicDeliberately planned for advantage
realistic · ends justify means · calculated · instrumental · goal-oriented · decision-making · triage · lesser evil
consequences
Results of actions taken
- resultsWhat follows from effort
- effectsConsequences or belongings
- impactsForceful contacts or influences
ends · aftermath · repercussions · ramifications · fallout · upshot · side-effects · cost-benefit · optimization · maximization
utility
Functional worth or purpose
well-being · Bentham · Mill · hedonism · altruism · felicific calculus
morality
Right and wrong principles
- normativeSetting behavioral standards
- rightnessState of being correct
- wrongnessState of being incorrect
goodness · badness · duty · obligation · principle · virtue · justice · fairness · responsibility · beneficence
practical
Suited for real use
- results-orientedPrioritizing measurable accomplishments
- expedientUseful if not ideal
- effectiveProducing intended results
strategic · realistic · ends justify means · calculated · instrumental · goal-oriented · decision-making · triage · lesser evil
- thinkersthinkers, thinker, philosophers, philosopher, Aristotle
- reasoningreasoning, reason, logic, inference, deductive
- PragmatistsWilliam James, John Dewey, instrumentalist, experimentalist