UTILITARIANISM

Teleological

Teleological focuses on the consequences and result in which any action might have

Deontological

In deontological ethics the rightness and wrongness is intrinsic to the act. Ethical theories that place special emphasis on the relationship between duty and the morality of human actions.

Utilitarianism

Comes from the Greek word ‘usefullness’

Hedonic calculus

A method of working out the sum total of pleasure and pain produced by an act, and thus the total value of its consequences

Act utilitarianism

This form of utilitarianism considers the consequences of each individual action

Rule utilitarianism

This form of utilitarianism considers the consequences of past actions to form a rule to guide the present action. We can produce more beneficial results by following rules than by always performing individual actions whose results are as beneficial as possible

Jeremy Bentham

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was one of the founders of utilitarianism. For Bentham, happiness was the supreme ethical value or what he called the ‘sovereign good’

John Stuart Mill

A follower of Bentham who rejected the quantitative approach to pleasure

Quantity of pleasure

The amount of pleasure that can be calculated when making a moral decision

Quality of pleasure

The standard of pleasure. In other words, not how much pleasure, but how good is the pleasure

Higher pleasures

These are pleasures of the mind such as art, education, and literature

Lower pleasures

These are the pleasures of the body such as food, sex, sleep

The principle of utility

The use of the significant concept of utility (seeking the greatest balance of good or evil, or pleasure over pain) in teleological or relativist approaches to ethics