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CHRISTINE JOY MOLINA

BSN 2B

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Define deontology, teleology and utilitarianism in your own words. Give examples or
scenarios of each theory based on your own understanding.
Deontology is an ethical theory that uses rules to distinguish right from wrong. It places
particular emphasis on the relationship between duty and morality of humans. Unlike
consequentialism, which judges actions by their results, deontology doesn’t require weighing
the costs and benefits of a situation. This avoids subjectivity and uncertainty because one must
only have to follow set rules. According to Immanuel Kant, all human beings impose upon
themselves a moral rule called categorical imperative by virtue of their rationality. These
categorical imperatives have four formulations, but two of these are more often used. The
formulation of the ‘Principle of Universalizability’ states that, “Act only according to that maxim
which you can and you will that it should become a universal law without contradiction”. A very
good example of deontology with the use of this maxim is the belief of ‘killing’ is wrong even if it
is categorized by ‘self-defense’. For instance, if A stabs B because he’s a threat to A and B
would stab back A because he wants to defend himself and then A would stab back B and the
cycle goes on. The conflict between the two parties will not end if this would be the case.
Teleology or consequentialism is the belief that the consequence or result of an action
determines whether it is ‘right’ or ‘wrong'. To determine the value of an act’s consequences,
consequentialists argue that one should define what is ultimately ‘good’ and ‘valuable’.
According to a famous consequentialist, Jeremy Bentham, an act can be considered as ‘right’ if
it enhances the total amount of pleasure and/or happiness or reduces the total amount of pain
and/or suffering. To put it into simplicity, Teleology focuses on the outcome of an action to tell if
it is good or bad. Stealing, for example, would be judged as right or wrong based on its
consequences. For instance, if I consider stealing bread from a bakery to feed my starving
family since it might be the fastest way to, then I would steal for sure. However, this action may
cause harm to the bakery itself. And if I were to be caught, I might go to prison and won't be
able to feed my family. Therefore, even if my motive was note-worthy, still, the act of stealing
might be wrong because other actions might be more effective in reaching the desired
consequences.
Utilitarianism is a moral theory that advocates actions that promote overall happiness or
pleasure, and this rejects actions that cause unhappiness or harm. Utilitarianism is a form of
consequentialism. One form of utilitarianism is act-utilitarianism, which allows different and
sometimes opposing actions in different situations. On the other hand, rule-utilitarianism
suggests that people should act according to rules that tend to maximize happiness and
diminish unhappiness. A good example of utilitarianism is when you and your group of friends
are deciding on what restaurant to eat. So, everyone in the group would choose about where
they would like to eat, and the restaurant chosen by many would most likely be where they will
eat. This is an example of utilitarianism since they decided to go on what the majority has
chosen.