Normative theories are supposed to provide human beings with the practical guidance in our moral decision making in a way that is consistent across different circumstances and one that respects the most widely-shared moral intuitions. The consequentialism theory and the deontological ethics theory are best at being consistent across different moral circumstances and respecting the moral intuitions. Consequentialism is a normative ethical theory that presumes that the consequences of the conduct of a person are the ultimate basis for any judgment on the right and the wrong of the form of conduct. According to the consequentialist idea, an action that is morally right is one that produces the best consequence or the outcome that is ethically sound. On the other hand, deontology is an approach to ethics that emphasizes on the rightness or wrongness of actions as opposed to the latter theory that focuses on the consequences of the right and wrong actions.
Consequentialism and deontological theories form the broader perspective of understanding the field of human ethics. The consequentialism theory focuses on making judgments on the moral worth of the results of the actions that one takes, while the deontological view focuses on making judgments about the actions themselves. The most common form of consequentialism is the utilitarianism perspective, which compares the utility of the consequences of an action. The approach looks at the achievement of the greatest happiness for the greatest number as a guiding principle. The principle of looking at the moral worth of the results of the actions is limited to the end rather than the means, which implies that in as much as it respects the moral intuition, it is non-prescriptive. In this case, the moral worth of the action is dependent on the potential consequence despite not having followed the normal edicts.
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On its part, deontology is an alternative theory to the consequentialism way of thinking. This moral theory presumes the fact that decisions should be based on the rules and obligations. The ethical theory respects the moral intuition in the sense that it applies the universal rules in the determination of the right and wrong actions. The deontological approach is vital as it does not focus on the individual decision-making process, but rather the general principles that rational people in specific situations would agree upon and adopt as a moral intuition. The normative theory is good at respective the moral intuition as it stipulates the ways in which the society expects one to act. For instance, it gives the normative rules upon which the society bases the agreed norms and the ways in which people belonging to the society can act. The theory stipulates the boundaries within which the actions of a person may be based.
It is imperative that the normative ethical theories have provided us with the practical guidance on our moral decision making that people have become constituent across different moral circumstances. The theories have also enabled people to respect their most widely shared moral intuitions. The consequentialism and the deontological theories have been used to show the relationship between the actions of the people and the moral obligation of the actions. The two theories are similar in terms of how they approach the ways in which people judge their actions. In as much as the consequentialism focuses on judging the moral worth of the results of the actions or the consequences of the actions, the deontological ethics focuses on judging the actions themselves. The two theories are viable in respecting the moral intuition in the sense that they give guidance on the choice between the moral good and bad.
