Utilitarianism vs Deontology

 
Though people tend to consider the two terms Utilitarianism
and Deontology as similar, there are certain differences
between the two terms. These are associated with morality.
In fact, they are two different schools of thought regarding
morality. According to utilitarianism, utility is all about the
result of an action. However in Deontology, the end does not
justify the means. This can be identified as the main
difference between the two concepts. This article attempts to
highlight the differences between these two terms while
explaining the two concepts.

What is Utilitarianism?
Utilitarianism believes in the concept of the ‘end justifies the
means’. As a matter of fact, the term was first used by the
philosophers John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham. It is
interesting to note that according to utilitarianism, utility is
all about the result of an action. Hence, the followers of
utilitarianism school of morality give more value to the
outcome of an action. Thus, consequentiality becomes very
important in this school of thought. Healthcare follows the
utilitarianism principles to a great extent. There is a belief
that the philosopher thinks and implements ideas that are
more selfish in the utilitarianism school of thought. Another
important characteristic in Utilitarianism is that it does not
pay special attention to codes of conduct. The stress is laid
on the end that the means, of getting there, becomes only
secondary. In such a context, the attention paid to the
manner in which a goal is achieved is insignificant. This is
why one can comment that Utilitarianism does not stress on
the code of conduct. However, when paying attention to
Deontology it is different in comparison to Utilitarianism

John Stuart Mill

What is Deontology?
Deontology is exactly the opposite of utilitarianism when it
comes to the explanations of its concepts. Deontology does
not believe in the concept of ‘the end justifies the means’. On
the other hand, it says ‘the end does not justify the means.’
This is the main difference between utilitarianism and
deontology. Another important difference between the two
schools of thought regarding ethical behavior is that,
utilitarianism is more consequence-oriented in character. On
the other hand, deontology is not consequence-oriented in
nature. It is totally dependent on scriptures. Thus, it can be
understood that deontology follows scriptures that show
sufficient light on the rules of conduct or moral rules and
intuition. The meaning of the word ‘deontology’ is ‘the study
of duty’. This word is derived from the Greek words ‘deon’
and ‘logos’. It is important to know that deontology insists
the ethical importance of both the action and the
consequence. One of the finest principles included in the
school of thought of deontology is that, every action should
be characterized by morality. It is the morality of an action
that can determine the morality of its outcome. Deontology
says that if the action is not moral in character or nature
then the outcome too cannot be moral or ethical. This is one
of the important principles laid down by the ethical school
of thought called deontology. Deontology takes the
universally accepted codes of conduct into account. On the
other hand, utilitarianism does not take universally
accepted codes of conduct into account. These are the
important differences between the two schools of thought
regarding morality, namely, Utilitarianism and Deontology.
Immanuel Kant
What is the Difference Between Utilitarianism and
Deontology?
• Deontology does not believe in the concept of ‘the end
justifies the means’ whereas Utilitarianism does.
• Utilitarianism is more consequence-oriented in character
but, deontology is not consequence-oriented in nature.
• Deontology takes the universally accepted codes of
conduct into account whereas, utilitarianism does not take
universally accepted codes of conduct into account.