Ethics Final Paper

December 1, 2014

Utilitarian Theory

Utilitarian theory can be described as an ethics system through which the wrongness or rightness of an action is judged through the consequences that the action has. The utilitarian ethics goal has a main aim which is to ensure that the greatest happiness level is promoted and for the highest number of people as well. Utilitarianism ensures that all people are happy and it also ensures that happiness is promoted thus people are always happy. The theory can be used in many instances to ensure that everything goes as it should be and also to ensure that all people are fine with the decisions made. That made me wonder; does utilitarianism promote happiness at all cost?

The core principle of the theory is the principle of the greatest happiness. That is because the theory tries to maximize the benefits thus reducing all the negativities and suffering. The theory also has a moral foundation which is to ensure that people get to be happy and they also get to maximize utility with the aim of attaining happiness (Scarre, 2002). The theory also calls for people to weigh their actions before undertaking them. That is because that helps them to know of the consequences that will be caused by their actions and as a result they are able to determine which actions to take and the actions that they have to leave out and that helps a lot since people are able to think before doing some of the actions that might have negative consequences to themselves and to others as well. The theory also ensures that people should make others happy and that is the reason why people try their best to ensure that the others are happy no matter the cost that comes with it.

In a situation where a friend is doing something wrong in order to benefits themselves at the cost of others, utilitarianism can be applied. That is because I can opt to be silent or even tell the others what my friend has been up to and the things that the friend has been doing behind their back. Telling the others means that I can end up losing my friend since he believes that I should remain silent about the matter as a sign of being a loyal friend to him. However, telling the others shows that I am going for the right thing and it should ensure that the people get to know of the wrong things that are happening and it also ensures that I will help the people that are being taken advantage of and that will ensure that my friend stops to take advantage of the other people and it will be of great help in ensuring that all the people are happy and the happiness of other people is not denied by one person.

The utilitarianism has some weaknesses. One of the weaknesses is that it calls for the people to predict the consequences of their actions before undertaking them. That is something that is not possible since people do not have the ability to predict the things that will happen in future. At times, people tend to do things with good intentions but the outcomes are negative. Therefore, it shows that it is hard for people to measure the consequences of their actions thus it is very hard for them to determine the actions that will cause happiness and those that will bring problems to them. The theory is, therefore, not effective since it is hard for people to tell what will happen in the future thus they will always have problems due to the actions that they take yet they had good intentions while taking the actions that they took yet they were not aware of the problems that could result from the actions that they undertook.

In conclusion, it is evident that the theory is very important when making good decisions. That is because the theory ensures that people are always happy. The theory also ensures that people tend to make the right decisions in order to ensure that they are able to make decisions that will be of great benefit to them and to others as well. That ensures that people get to do things with the intention of trying to make themselves happy and making others happy as well. However, the theory does not completely make people happy because people are not able to make the right decisions and also predict some of the things that will happen due to their actions. Therefore, people are not always able to make the right decisions since the decisions that they make may end up causing great problems to them thus the will not always be happy with spme of the decisions that they make.

References

Beattie, F. (1885). An examination of the utilitarian theory of morals. Brantford: J. & J. Sutherland.

Scarre, G. (2002). Utilitarianism. London: Routledge.