What Are Teleological Ethical Theories?
The word "teleology" or "teleological" derives from the Greek "telos," meaning an end or purpose. The "telos" of a pair of scissors, for example, is to cut paper or cloth. When applied to ethics, teleology refers to a theory's seeking to manifest something in the world, to bring about a certain state of affairs that is superior to what currently exists, as opposed to satisfying your own desires.
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Consequentialism
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The most famous teleological theories of ethics are called "consequentialist," that is, they measure the moral worth of an act by what it creates in the world. Utilitarianism is one such important theory, and it seeks, at its most abstract, to increase the amount of pleasure in the world. A utilitarian theory is teleological in that it seeks the end of moral action in the creation of pleasure. (Ref. 1.)
Smith's Markets
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Adam Smith was an important consequentialist in that he considered economic production an effect of utilitarianism. In Smith's case, the human emotions such as greed or envy could be channeled into socially constructive avenues under a regime of economic competition. Here, economic actors would compete with each other for the consumer's dollar, meaning that, in order to survive and be profitable, business owners would need to do all possible to cater to the consumer and offer quality merchandise at a good price. (Ref. 1.)
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Plato
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Teleology in ethics can also refer to the end, or purpose, of human nature itself. Plato's ethical theory held that good actions derive from a rightly ordered soul. The "telos," or end goal of ethics is to manifest the good actions of the rightly ordered, rational soul. This meant, for Plato, that reason should dominate both will and passion in the soul, channeling them into rational ends. The opposite would be the perversion of the soul where each individual desire is pursued regardless of consequences. Reason ensures that just and prudent actions exist in the world since the soul, from which all actions take their root, is rightly ordered. In this case, while consequentialist to an extent, Plato's view holds that the end of human action is the creation of the rightly ordered soul, which then guarantees just and prudent actions in the future. (Ref. 1.)
Anarchism and Postmodernism
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Anarchist and postmodern ethics are other forms of consequentialism with a radical tinge. Anarchism is the social theory that human actions should be free from constraint, especially from the bureaucratic state. In our present world, anarchist or postmodern ethics will find moral worth in any action that does damage to hierarchical relations, state power or bureaucratic standardization. The final end, or "telos" of human action under these theories is to manifest pure freedom in the world. (Ref. 2.)
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References
- Photo Credit Plaster head of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates image by Supertrooper from Fotolia.com
