For our last ethical school of thought that will be covered in this mini-series, let’s talk about consequentialism.

Consequentialism is a subset to normative ethics, which deals in the process of how people decide between right and wrong. It was created by 3 main philosophers: David Hume (1711-1776), Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873).

Someone who identifies as a consequentialist would ask themselves the following questions when deciding between right and wrong, as Psychology Today tells us:

1. What impact is my behavior having on the world?
2. Am I creating more good or doing more harm with my behavior?
3. Are my actions making the world a better place?

Consequentialists want to generate the most good for the most people- this is where consequentialism is related to beneficence, which is something people who subscribe to principlism evaluate.

In a nutshell, it’s the idea that an action’s morality is determined by its consequences.

Strengths and weaknesses:

Consequentialism
Strengths	– Will minimize damage – People retain their autonomy and can make their own decisions
Weaknesses	– Ends won’t justify the means (ex. in the end, if the consequences are minimal, it won’t matter what the intent was)

I hope you learned something new today, and thank you for reading! 🙂