Which ethical approach focuses on the consequences of actions to promote overall happiness?

Utilitarianism is the ethical approach that emphasizes the consequences of actions, aiming to maximize overall happiness or utility. This philosophy is rooted in the idea that the best action is the one that results in the greatest good for the greatest number of people. It evaluates the outcomes of various choices and seeks to promote the overall well-being of individuals affected by those actions.

Utilitarianism is often associated with the following key principles: the greatest happiness principle, consequentialism (the doctrine that the morality of an action is to be judged solely by its consequences), and the consideration of the collective benefits of any given action. By prioritizing the results of actions over motivations or duties, utilitarianism provides a pragmatic way to assess the morality of choices based on their efficacy in producing favorable outcomes for the most people involved.

Alternative ethical frameworks like virtue ethics, moral relativism, and duty ethics focus on different aspects of ethical reasoning such as character traits, cultural norms, and adherence to obligations respectively, which do not primarily consider the overall consequences in terms of happiness. This distinction is what makes utilitarianism unique in its approach to ethical decision-making.