Consequentialism and Teleological Ethics
Assessing outcome-based reasoning through utility, welfare, love, proportionality, rules and the prediction and distribution of consequences.
How to study A-level Religious Studies
Clarify the approach, explain sources and interpretations accurately, compare significant ideas, analyse their influence and reach a reasoned judgement.
Core concepts
Concept 1
Consequentialist theories judge acts or rules by the value of their outcomes, requiring an account of what counts as good.
Exam cue: Define the good being maximised or promoted.
Concept 2
Act and rule approaches differ over whether each act or a generally adopted rule is evaluated.
Exam cue: Identify affected parties, foreseeable outcomes, probability and distribution.
Concept 3
Religious teleological approaches may prioritise love, flourishing or proportionate reason rather than a single quantitative utility.
Exam cue: Test whether rules, rights or intentions constrain the calculation.
Targeted study blocks
Common study lens
Build transferable religious-studies understanding
Apply a defined theory to outcomes, then test prediction, measurement, justice, rights and demandingness.
Entered-route lens
Apply the exact selected tradition, text and scholars
Use the precise utilitarian, situationist or proportionalist account and applications required for the route.
Risk pitfalls and guardrails
Assuming consequentialism means selfish pursuit of personal pleasure.
Guardrail: Do not present one denomination, school, scholar or board option as though it represented every learner or every religious tradition.
Listing outcomes without comparing their value or likelihood.
Guardrail: Do not present one denomination, school, scholar or board option as though it represented every learner or every religious tradition.
Ignoring demandingness, justice and minority-rights objections.
Guardrail: Do not present one denomination, school, scholar or board option as though it represented every learner or every religious tradition.
Memory anchors
Consequentialism
Consequentialism evaluates choices by the value of their outcomes.
Teleology
Teleological reasoning evaluates action in relation to an end, purpose or good.
Act Approach
An act approach evaluates the consequences of the particular act.
Rule Approach
A rule approach evaluates the consequences of adopting or following a general rule.
Utility
Utility is the net value, welfare or preference satisfaction used by a specified utilitarian theory.
Checkpoint rule
Do the check-up only after you can summarize each concept in one sentence and identify one dangerous pitfall from memory.
Knowledge Check (after reading)
Short check-up to confirm understanding of this module.
Check-up Questions
Which ethical family makes outcomes fundamental to whether an act is right?
What is Bentham's principle of utility?
Answer all questions to submit.
Next step personalized recommendations
Continue learning
Move forward only after this module is stable.
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