Editing Teleology (section)

=== Deontology ===
{{Main|Deontological ethics}}
Consequentialism stands in contrast to the more classical notions of [[deontological ethics|''deontological'' ethics]], of which examples include [[Immanuel Kant]]'s ''[[categorical imperative]]'', and [[Aristotle]]'s [[virtue ethics|''virtue'' ethics]]—although formulations of virtue ethics are also often consequentialist in derivation.

In deontological ethics, the goodness or badness of individual acts is primary and a larger, more desirable goal is insufficient to justify bad acts committed on the way to that goal, even if the bad acts are relatively minor and the goal is major (like telling a small lie to prevent a war and save millions of lives). In requiring all constituent acts to be good, ''deontological ethics'' is much more rigid than consequentialism, which varies by circumstance.

'''Practical ethics''' are usually a mix of the two. For example, Mill also relies on deontic maxims to guide practical behavior, but they must be justifiable by the principle of utility.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/onlibertyotheres00mill |url-access=registration |title=John Stuart Mill On Liberty And Other Essays |author=John Gray, Ed. |page=ix |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-283384-7 |year=1998 }}</ref>