The bottom line is that killing is not okay, and since Kira can easily
engage in criminal genocide with no signs of remorse, he is clearly not a
morally upstanding character
Teleological Ethics
• Also called consequentialist ethics or consequentialism
• Holds that the basic standard of morality is precisely the value of
what an action brings into being
Utilitarian Ethics
• Utilitarianism is one of the most important and influential moral
theories of modern times
• Utilitarianism is an essay writing of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart
Mill
Utilitarian Ethics
There are three principles that serve as the basic axioms of utilitarianism:
1. Pleasure or Happiness Is the Only Thing That Truly Has Intrinsic Value
• "utility," which in this context does not mean "useful" but, rather, means
pleasure or happiness
• To say that something has intrinsic value means that it is simply good in
itself
• A world in which this thing exists, or is possessed, or is experienced, is
better than a world without it (all other things being equal)
• Intrinsic value contrasts with instrumental value
• Something has instrumental value when it is a means to some end
E.g. A screwdriver has instrumental value to the carpenter; it is not valued
for its own sake but for what can be done with it.
Utilitarian Ethics
There are three principles that serve as the basic axioms of
utilitarianism:
2. Actions Are Right Insofar as They Promote Happiness, Wrong
Insofar as They Produce Unhappiness
• It makes utilitarianism a form of consequentialism since it says that
the morality of an action is decided by its consequences
• The more happiness is produced among those affected by the action,
the better the action is
• So, all things being equal, giving presents to a whole gang of children
is better than giving a present to just one. Similarly, saving two lives is
better than saving one life.
Utilitarian Ethics
There are three principles that serve as the basic axioms of
utilitarianism:
3. Everyone's Happiness Counts Equally
• Two hundred years ago, it was a commonly held view that some lives,
and the happiness they contained, were simply more important and
valuable than others
E.g. the lives of masters were more important than slaves; the well-
being of a king was more important than that of a peasant.
Light’s point of view – Utilitarian Ethics
• Light wants to remove criminals, because by doing so, it would
improve the world
• That is the philosophy that Light stands by when using his death note,
and although slightly psychologically damaged with a god complex
Light sincerely believes that he is doing good
• And it is hard to reject the statement : Criminals are bad, and the
removal of criminals would result in net good.