October 28, 2011
Philosophy
Professor R. Lewis
Short Essay-Topic: The death penalty, what do Utilitarian’s think.
Consequentialist moral theories are teleological, meaning it relates to the study of the
ultimate cause or actions in relations to their ends. (Encarta 2009) Utilitarianism is its most
common form and this theory defines morality in terms of the maximization of net expectable
utility for all parties affected by a decision or action; meaning everyone’s happiness counts the
same. It questions “what ought a man to do?”
Two theories of Utilitarianism is, (1) Act– a person performs the act (s) that benefit the
most people, regardless of personal feelings or the societal constraints such as laws and (2) Rule
