The basic ethical debate is often presented as a matter of deontological versus utilitarian viewpoint. A utilitarian thinker may believe, when the overall outcome of lives saved due to torture are positive, torture can be justified; the intended outcome of an action is held as the primary factor in determining its merit or morality. The opposite view is the deontological, from Greek "deon" (duty), which proposes general rules and values that are to be respected regardless of outcome. However, if the outcome of policies allowing torture are uncertain (or if the outcome can not be definitely traced back to the use of torture) then there can be a utilitarian view that torture is wrong (see issues related to the ends justifying the means in analysis of the ticking time bomb scenario).