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Consequentialism and Utilitarianism

Patryce S. Johnson

Stratford University

Author Note

“...the rarest of all human qualities is consistency.” ― Jeremy Bentham

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Abstract

Within this text I have provided a description of a well-known questionable experiment, “The

Trolley Problem” and gave my personal opinion on how I may react. Defining the terms of

Consequentialism, Utilitarianism, and Hendonism as well noting the theorist behind theses

ethical theories.

Keywords: Consequentialism- “right or wrong depend on the consequences of an act,

and that the more good consequences are produced, the better the act.”

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/consequentialism_1.shtml)

Utilitarianism- a normative ethical theory that places the focus of right and wrong solely

on the outcomes (consequences) of choosing one action/policy over other actions/policies.

(http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/Cavalier/80130/part2/sect9.html)

Hedonism- states that people should maximize human pleasure.

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/consequentialism_1.shtml)
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Many people's overall goal in life is to be happy, right? Whatever the pursuit of one's happiness

is depends on them. Some people thrive off having materialistic things, some are happy with

common aesthetics, or merely helping others, etc.

The Trolley Problem

Phillipa Foot, an English philosopher, born in the 1920’s developed a wonderful

experiment in ethics known as “The Trolley Problem” (1967)

(http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/Trolley_Problem-PHIL_1A.pdf) . This experiment is

a question of study for one’s mind in which it purposes what one would do in saving the

life of five versus one. The scenario suggests that there is a runaway train that is headed

in the direction of five workers. You are not able to yell and get their attention, however

there is a lever in which you can pull to switch its direction. The only problem is there is

one worker in the other track. You can either let the runaway train continue its path,

killing five to save the one or pull the lever killing one and saving five. Or perhaps push a

large man over a bridge to stop the train from killing anyone, but the man dies? The

experiment is to challenge your moral decisions based on the manner or the way you go

about achieving them. I thought about what I would do, and I choose to save the lives of

the five versus the one unfortunately. Theoretically, I would want to save everyone

however five is greater than one.

Consequentialism

Consequentialism is a form of normative properties, that describes how ethical theories

determine right or wrong action. It focuses on the consequences or outcome of an action

(https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/). It is also known as Teleological ethics

which is a Greek term derived from the word “telos”, which means “end or purpose”. There are
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two principles that Consequentialism is based on: the more good consequences or outcome an act

can provide the greater chances the act is right. The second principle is the results of an act will

determine whether that action was right or wrong. There are a couple of controversies with this

theory. For instance, one should weigh the happiness of others as they would weigh their own

and it can violate others’ rights to happiness and well-being.

Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is also a form of normative properties, that focuses on the right and wrong

action the benefits the majority based on the outcome consequences

(http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/Cavalier/80130/part2/sect9.html).

The Hedonistic act of Utilitarianism is centered around the right action maximizes

pleasure. Jeremy Bethan, founder of utilitarianism and author of “The Utilitarian Principle”

noted that utilitarianism may be beneficial in diverse setting, to maximize utility in society or

satisfaction, and overall objective in decision making is to achieve the greater good for the

greatest number. John Mills, the student, elaborated and provided support based on the moral

theory of utilitarianism as wells addressing the misconceptions surrounding it. He argued that

happiness was the pursuit of all. “A person may cause evil to others not only by his

actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for
the injury.” -John Stuart Mill

In conclusion, originally the text described the “Trolley Problem”, which purposed the

question of saving one versus five or vice versa. Now that I have given you the terminology of a

consequentialist and utilitarianist, what would you do?

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References

https://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/utilitarianism/summary/

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/utilitarianism/

https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/wi-phi/wiphi-value-theory/wiphi-

ethics/v/utilitarianism-part-1

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/