Consequentialism is an ethical theory based on whether a decision made or an act performed is deemed right or wrong based on the positive end result. Utilitarianism and hedonism are types of consequentialism. Utilitarianism is what is best for the common good, for example, and whether a particular act would be more beneficial to the masses rather than just benefiting one individual. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay There are two types of utilitarianism, act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism implies that every individual act is carefully examined. For example, if you have to make a decision, you need to weigh the consequences and which option you choose is of maximum benefit. However, rule utilitarianism evaluates consequences by adopting a certain set of rules, such as "Thou shalt not kill" or "Thou shalt not lie". Whether an act is right or wrong is generally based on these rules (Fletcher et al., 1995. Cited in, Hendrick). Hedonism is the personal pursuit of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. Bentham and Mill are described as hedonistic utilitarians because they had defined utility in terms of pleasure and happiness. Mill and Bentham's ideas were widely respected because they believed they reduced moral judgments and suffering while increasing happiness. (Judith Hendrick, 2000). If the outcome of an act is positive in the long term, but if the path taken to reach the positive outcome has had to endure some forms of dissatisfaction or emotional distress then it can be observed as justifiable, because the final result is positive. However, if the outcome were negative, the act would not be justifiable (Graham Rumbold, 1999). For example, if a person, who is a mother, father or a loved one, receives a very invasive treatment, such as chemotherapy used to treat cancer. During treatment it would cause dissatisfaction and emotional turmoil, but the end result would or could be overall well-being and happiness, as the patient would or could be cured. This would also be for the greater good of the family members of the patient in question, as well as the patient himself. There are also other scenarios that aid the understanding of consequentialism on a much larger scale. If a deceased person's organs were to be donated, that person may have suffered before death, but many people would have gained life from death because their organs enabled others to sustain life. This scenario can even go further. Consequentialism would examine who would benefit most from donated organs and what would have the greatest outcome, although consequentialism does not have a guaranteed outcome. The definition of deontology in the Oxford dictionary is “The study of the nature of duty and obligation” (Oxford University Press, 2019). Deontology is absolutist, meaning that something is right or wrong despite the consequences. Immanuel Kant was well known and widely influential for his ethical views regarding the theory of deontology. The morality of an act does not justify actions taking place during the period of time necessary to achieve the end result of that particular act. According to (Thompson et al., 1994) referring to Kant “It is not the final result of an act that makes it right or wrong, but rather the moral intention of the agent” (Thompson et al., 1994. Cited in Barter). If an act is to be done, it must be done within what is ultimately right. For example, an act driven by emotion and contrary to a code of moral conduct is wrong, regardless of whether it was done for the greater good. If an individual committed a theft and stolefood to feed the poor and hungry, would be wrong, regardless of the good consequences the result would bring. Kant theorized that if a person is to make a decision it should be a principle that everyone should be able to follow, regardless of circumstances, beliefs or culture, it should be a principle that can be applied universally and not one in which exceptions are allowed depending on the situation. There are criticisms of the theory of deontology. Deontology is too absolutist (David Seedhouse, 1988) states that the rights and errors of this ethical theory are too firm and insensitive to people's moral judgments. Ethics states that it is wrong to lie in any context of a situation. There may be situations in healthcare that justify telling a falsehood. This could be the case where a family has been involved in a catastrophic car accident, resulting in the death of some family members. If one of the surviving family members asked how a relative was doing after the accident and this relative was deceased, the truth would cause the surviving family member severe distress, which would prolong the need for emergency care. It would be in the survivor's best interest not to receive this information until they are in a more stable condition. There is no guidance on how decisions should be made, a lie is told to protect a person. It also has the assumption that, as a society, all people live by the same right moral code of conduct. In reality, however, people's lives and life experiences cause different judgments and therefore people make different decisions. An example of this would be the case of two patients requiring a liver transplant, one a chronic alcoholic and another suffering from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This could influence who will be first to receive the first available donated organ. However, according to the rules of ethics, the first person on the organ transplant list should receive the organ, whereas in the National Health Service the donated organ is matched to the patient and it is established which patient would benefit most from the transplant. (British Liver Trust, 2018). Postmodern ethics is a set of rules that take into account people's social environment, their environment, psychological state and show respect and acceptance for political opinions, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity and culture of a person. Postmodernism also questions facts and theory is open to the idea that things can change. Postmodernism is not absolutist, there is no absolute truth. Although he accepts all beliefs, he also speaks out against the dominant regimes that some religions may have. Pre-modernism was based on God, religion, and what was morally right and wrong, according to the Bible. The modern was based on scientific facts that had been researched and is a very biomedical model. Principlism is based on ethics which includes; autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice. In healthcare, autonomy allows the patient to make a decision about their treatment and without a healthcare professional influencing their decision making. Although the healthcare professional would still give information and advice. According to modern theory, which is the biomedical model, the healthcare provider would be presented with the patient's ailments and treat the disease, with a prescription of whatever medication may be needed to resolve the ailment, whether or not the patient complies. While in the case of autonomy an example could be a young person under the age of 16, a healthcare worker or.