Ethical Theories

Ethical Theories

Ethical Theories

The consequentialist theory is concerned with the consequences or end result of an action, not the actions involved in obtaining the desired outcome. First one must determine what the best outcome will be. The action that is considered good or morally correct would be the one required to achieve that end result. This theory can then be put into two sub-theories, ethical egoism and "social consequentialism”;utilitarianism probably being the most common theory (Lyon 1999).

Ethical egoism is a form of consequentialism that guides an individual to make a decision that benefits themselves the most (Shaver, 2002). This theory ...