Which pair represents the two principal theories of ethics?

Enhance your ethical decision-making skills with the BOMI Ethics is Good Business Test. Utilize flashcards and multiple choice questions with explanations to prepare effectively. Ace your exam with confidence!

In ethics, two broad ways people judge what’s right are: following set duties or rules (duty-based or deontological ethics) and evaluating actions by their outcomes (utilitarian ethics). These capture the main approaches to moral decision-making.

Duty-based ethics says an action is right if it adheres to moral duties or universal rules, regardless of the consequences. It emphasizes doing what’s morally required, honoring rights, and treating people as ends in themselves. For example, telling the truth is considered right because truth-telling aligns with a duty to be honest, not because it always leads to the best overall result.

Utilitarian ethics, on the other hand, focuses on the consequences of actions. The right action is the one that yields the greatest good for the greatest number, even if it means breaking a rule in a particular case. Here, what matters is the overall balance of happiness or welfare produced.

The combination of duty-based ethics with utilitarian ethics best represents the two principal theoretical families in ethics. The other options mix concepts that aren’t presented as the two foundational theories (religious-based ethics and moral codes, or simply moral codes with another concept), so they don’t capture the dominant contrast in ethical theory.