Utilitarian Course Of Action example essay topic

THEORY -- The theory of Utilitarianism states that actions should be judged as right or wrong depending on whether they cause more happiness or unhappiness. It weighs the rightness and wrongness of an action based on consequences of that action. PRINCIPLES -- (1) CONSEQUENCE PRINCIPLE: Actions are to be judged right or wrong mainly by their own consequences. Nothing else matters. Right actions are those that have the best consequences. -No act is right in and of it self.

-No act is wrong in and of it self. (2) PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY: The only thing that matters is the amount of happiness and unhappiness that is caused. Therefore the right actions are those that produce the highest ratio of happiness over unhappiness. So in judging the consequences only the wants of happiness and pain are relevant morally. (3) PRINCIPLE OF IMPARTIALITY: When finding happiness and unhappiness that's caused ones own happiness is to be looked at more important then anyone else's. Every person is equally important as the next when it comes to happiness.

Applying the 3 principles of Utilitarianism: (1) Utilitarian can disagree about what is right and wrong yet still be utilitarians. (2) The principle of Impartiality has its limits, so... (3) Personality types can be assessed in terms of their utility. EVERYDAY SCENARIO -- Utilitarian experience's conflict when considering acts of injustice that does harm to others. That this sort of conflict is a lack of integrity, but the utilitarian must be willing to sacrifice his / her own feelings for the good of others.

A utilitarian believes that following your integrity when it conflicts with the general good is too self-regarding. For example: A talented doctor who has the knowledge to perform a lifesaving operation, but get squeamish about cutting open flesh. Should the surgery be performed despite of the inner conflict for the better of mankind? With regard to moral squeamishness, a utilitarian will over rule his feelings against doing an injustice if the good outweighs the injustice being done. PROBLEMS -- A problem with utilitarianism is the psychological effect it has on one person. The utilitarian course of action is one where the good is defined before the right.

If the consequences turn out bad, the person with the integrity is going to feel bad and think that they did the wrong thing. A utilitarian will think they did the right thing because of how the outcome appeared to be before the actions took place. COMMON SENSE -- We are all utilitarians. We just don't know what value to attach out moral feelings to. However, our moral feelings are part of our moral relation to the world and by regarding those feelings from a utilitarian point of view cause us to lose our personal integrity. CONCLUSION -- After gaining better insight to the theory of utilitarianism with the booth individual.

I would consider my self more aware of a theory that is plain common sense that I deal with day in and day out. I would now try to maximize my benefits, which would make my-self a utilitarian.

Bibliography

Rachels, James. The Elements of Moral Philosophy. McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. 1999..