Utilitarian ethics are associated with John Stuart Mill, and the central premise of utilitarianism is that the rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by the goodness or badness of their consequences. It is regarded to as the Greatest Happiness Principle, and it forms the basis of morals in utilitarianism. Therefore, an action is moral if it brings out the best consequences. This means where there is maximum happiness. On the other hand, deontological ethics are mainly associated with Immanuel Kant and are commonly regarded to as Kantian ethics. Deontological ethics put emphasis on the significance of reason and the unqualified rational nature of moral principles.
According to Kant, an action is regarded as being moral if it is accordance with a moral principle or rule. These two theories often conflict. For example, a rightful landowner is prevented by the government from evicting hundreds of encroachers from his piece of land on the argument that they will not have a place to stay if evicted. According to utilitarianism, this brings maximum happiness because the hundreds of encroachers are not evicted. However, according to Kantian ethics, this is wrong because the rightful landowner is denied his right.
I disagree with critics of Kant that deontological ethics have a one-sided approach. Morality should be guided by a set of rules of conduct which should not be compromised just to bring about greater happiness. This greater happiness comes at the back of others’ great sadness. It is no wonder that immoral actions can be justified using the theory of utilitarianism. For example, the military overthrow of an unpopular elected president is bound to bring the greatest happiness for the masses. According to Mill, this is right because the end justifies the means. The fact that many people are happy with the deposition of such a president, then the military overthrow is moral. Moral theories are not one-sided as feminists claim because morality cuts across the whole society. This means that it applies to both men and women, and therefore traditional moral theories cannot be viewed as being one-sided.
