Examples Of Consequentialism

Consequentialism is a normative theory of ethics that offers a systematic approach to reaching ethical and moral conclusions. It follows the thought that actions can be judged entirely on the result of the act in question. Thus, a ‘morally right’ action would be concluded based on the achievement of the best possible outcome.

Consequentialism also goes by the name of teleology, from the Greek teleos meaning end or purpose. Consequentialism judges whether something is right depending on its consequences. In other words, the consequences of an action are all that matter when taking an ethical decision to act. You need not be dutiful or virtuous, you might even lie or cheat or steal, so long as the result of your action is morally good. It doesn’t matter

Utilitarianism was first proposed by Jeremy Bentham. Bentham was a legal reformer who lived in England during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He sought an objective basis that would provide a publicly acceptable norm of determining what kinds of laws England should enact. He believed the most promising way of reaching such an agreement was to choose the policy that would bring about the greatest net benefits to society once the harms had been considered. Utilitarianism judges consequences by a “greatest happiness for the greatest number” standard (Bentham,1776). That is, the right act or policy maximises the total utility or welfare of the majority of all the affected parties. Bentham famously held that humans were ruled by two ultimate masters – pleasure and pain. We seek pleasure and the avoidance of pain, they “… govern us in all we do, in all we say, in all we think…” (Bentham, 1780). Bentham believed that the good consequences of an action must be assessed in terms of pleasure where the more it produces the more the action will be good, but if the action will not give pleasure or the maximum of pleasure possible, it will be deemed