Consequentialism And Ethical Decision Making

There are many different ways in which people decide on what actions to take in life. Some may act based on a certain set of rules they have in their minds, such as the well-known Ten Commandments, following the law in fear of the repercussions, or by solely doing what they have seen through their entire lives. While others place less emphasis on following these rules and are more interested in developing the correct habits. Another way in which people choose their actions in ethical situations is the obligation or duty they feel to act in a certain way. This view is based on the rights and responsibilities a person feels that he or she has when making decisions. The basis of ethical decision making is given to us through different principals

Also known as the Principle of Utility, Consequentialism is referred to as the moral theory stating that the consequences of a particular action are the basis for any judgment regarding the given action. It implies that the action must produce good results to be considered correct. In order to make a decision on the course of action to take, one must first look at the big picture; on account that a morally correct action is one that maximizes net utility. Consequentialism sees the affected population as a whole and states that an action is right if it is more favorable than unfavorable by the group. The Principle of Utility (Consequentialism) also alone focuses on the consequences of an action and ignores the motives of the characters. As long as an actions' outcome promotes happiness, the action is right. For example; if a man donates to a charity that his father hates, but secretly only donates the money to anger his father, even in this situation the man is considered to be

The utility in this sense would be the happiness and pleasure as opposed to the pain and sadness an action could stir up. It can also be described as “the greatest good for the greatest number” (123, FE). But mentioning the quantity aspects in the definition, does not mean that one person’s well-being is worth more than another, moreover, it entails benefiting a larger quantity; whether the lives being improved are those of high society or blue collar. The utilitarian theory of consequentialism defines morality in terms of the maximization of the overall expected utility for all parties affected by the decision or action. When digging further more into utilitarianism you will find a subsection called act utilitarianism, which delves into more detail about the