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Teleological ethics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Teleological ethics refers to ethical propositions which are aimed at a certain "end" (telos in Greek, hence "teleology".) They follow an "if...then..." format, like so:
- If one wants _________, then one should ________.
-
- or
-
- In order to get __________, one ought to __________.
For example, Utilitarian ethical theories specify that the purpose (or end) of moral decisions is "happiness" (identified with pleasure). Thus, in order to maximize happiness, one ought to follow (whatever moral rules one determines using the Utilitarian pleasure-maximizing calculus).
The opposite of teleological ethics is deontological ethics, which holds that one ought to do the right thing not for the sake of any goal, but simply because it is the right thing.
Kant refers to these two types as hypothetical imperatives and categorical imperatives, respectively (and believes that ethics ought to focus on the latter).