Deontology and Utilitarianism

Deontology entails the behavior of adhering to moral rules when performing human activities to depict one’s ethical nature. The moral systems of deontology consist of independent moral rules, which are generally acceptable in the society and promote peaceful coexistence. In this regard, duties or rules, which lead to moral and immoral acts, are defined. Ethical theories guide the adherence to duties stipulated by the deontological systems. Some of these ethical theories include divine command, right theories, contractarianism and monistic deontology. Divine command refers to the set of theories extracted from the biblical teaching, which guide on the moral obligation of God. The duty theories entail actions, which are right morally right based on the set of obligations predefined. Right theories explain actions considering all humans. Similarly, monistic deontology involves principles acceptable from subsequent theories of deontology that encompasses moral rules. In spite of the benefits attributable to monistic deontology, there are numerous demerits associated with it. Some of these demerits include lack of appropriate means of solving conflicts and the right way of selecting moral rules (Uhlmann et al, 2009).

Utilitarianism entails the performance of human actions that promote overall happiness. In this case, one should predetermine the impacts of their actions on other people. Therefore, any action that leads to overall happiness can be undertaken. On the other hand, an action that could ruin the happiness of other people should be avoided. The morality of the actions is unspecified, but the consequences are emphasized. Based on this notion, people should do what is right since moral things promote overall happiness. Nevertheless, there exists one common weakness of this approach. This weakness entails the manner of measuring what is wrong or right in human actions. As a result, immoral actions could be undertaken since they promote overall happiness (Baugher & Weisbord, 2008).