Utilitarianism - Essay Example

? Utilitarianism Philosophy is one of the most interesting fields of science. This field focuseson finding reasons for the way people react when encountered by general problems in the society. The concept of philosophy is also aimed at focusing on the reasons why people behave and the justifications behind the actions. This therefore makes philosophy a very important subject that tends to explain the behavior of people and trying to develop justifications for such actions. In most cases people will find philosophy unrealistic and unjustified. The reason to this negative perception towards philosophy is the fact that it tries to defend some of the things that the society may be funding unethical and unrealistic. The philosophy of utilitarianism is a theory found in the subsection of normative ethics. The theory proposes that every course of action taken by an individual is governed by the outcome of the result. In most cases, as the theory proposes, the action is justifiable if it has a positive impact to the lifestyle of an individual. The rationale behind this impression made by the theory is based on the fact that if a specific course of action makes one happy then the action is justifiable. The action may not fall in line with the ethics of the society but it is valid in the theory of utilitarianism. Such justifications are what that make the theory dismissed by most people in the society. This is because the members of the society hold high levels of ethics in relation to the action of different individuals. As long as a specific course of action negatively affects the lifestyle of another person, then the action should be considered as unjustifiable and unethical. Basically, utilitarianism is a self centered concept that focuses on the on the impact of the action on the person taking the action (Meredith 2011). It tends to overlook the impact of the action to the recipient. Philosophers have tried to come up with different strategies of comparing the theory of utilitarianism to other concepts in life. The theory has been compared to the golden rule of Jesus. The comparison is based on the course of action taken by an individual and the impact of the action to the individual. The golden rule of Jesus states that; “to do as you would be done by and to love your neighbor as yourself”. The comparison of the theory to this rule to the theory of utilitarianism shows that the two concepts are in line with each other. This is based on the fact that Jesus proposes that one should unto others what he/she would like others do unto them. In this case one would tend to do unto others things that bring happiness. In this case, the course of action taken by an individual would be focused on the impact that the action has on personal life. Therefore, if a specific action would evoke feelings of happiness to oneself, the person would tend to take the course of action towards the people around him/her with the rationale that he/she would have wanted the same course of action to be directed towards his personal life. On the concept of love your neighbor as you love yourself, the same rationale applies. This is where one would engage in actions that show love to those around him because of the sense that it is the same thing that he or she would want from the person affected by the action. Utilitarianism is solely focused on the maximization of happiness to the lifestyle of an individual. This is the base line for any course of action taken by an individual. The theory may appear to be self centered because the actions of an individual are not focused on the affected parties by the action. The theory’s main focus is on the lifestyle of the person engaging in the act. Therefore, the affected party by the course of action is not of great significance in the theory. This therefore is the reason as to why the theory is dismissed by most members of the society because it only focuses on one side for a specific course of action taken by an individual. Many societies have disqualified the rationale applied by the theory of utilitarianism. A specific course of action should not be inclined on the impact to the person who commits the act but also on the person who is affected by the act. The golden rule of Jesus is one that is advocated for by most members of the society especially from the Christian religion. The golden rule’s application is somehow linked to the theory of utilitarianism. This is because it relates to the person involved in the specific course of action and the impact of the action to his/her life. A higher portion of the population in any given society disqualifies the concept of relating the golden rule of Jesus to the theory of utilitarianism. Most of the people will not find the correlation of the golden rule to the theory of utilitarianism. Many philosophical theories tend to determine the status of specific course of action and whether it is a right or a wrong. Utilitarianism is one of the theories which tend to determine the right or wrong of specific course of action (Lee 2011). In many cases, philosophical theories are twisted by members of the society in a way aimed at defending their course of action whether right or wrong. In many occasions, different members of the society will engage in actions that affect the society adversely, the justifications or arguments made by such people in the society are based on some of the philosophical theories such as utilitarianism. People advocating for crime activities have played a role in twisting the theory of utilitarianism. The society is composed of people from different ethnic, racial and social backgrounds. With the great diversity in the society, people tend to interact and share knowledge from different aspects of life. However, some people will tend to engage in hate actions aimed at frustrating a specific group of people. These people will take these action steps with the rationale that they are making their lives more interesting and happy. This rationale has been applied as a complete twist of the theory of utilitarianism. The twist comes in the sense that these people seek self fulfillment of their selfish desires and then they try and incorporate utilitarianism to justify their actions. A good example of such an incident would be the conflict that existed between the Germans and the Jews in the reign of Adolf Hitler. The Germans showed hate to the Jews and this was with the objective of frustrating them and seeking their own happiness. The theory has been manipulated in very many ways by different members of the society and this could be one of the reasons why many people will dismiss many philosophical theories even those that should appear realistic and rational. As observed, the hate crimes go contrary to the golden rule of Jesus. This should be enough justification to such people that their courses of actions in different timings are wrong. Happy feelings or a happy life should not be generated at the expense of another person’s life. Utilitarianism has also been manipulated by members of the society who have occasionally been involved in crimes linked with the death of people in the society. A happy life should not be gained from the death of another individual’s life. However, genocide perpetrators unjustifiably tend to apply utilitarianism as a concept behind the course of action. Genocide is the malicious execution of a specific group of people for reasons of self fulfillment. The death of the millions of Jews in Germany by Adolf Hitler is an excellent example of how people will engage in hideous crimes such as genocide on the basis of applying utilitarianism. The Germans persecuted the Jews on the basis that they wanted to be happier. This was the rationale applied by Adolf Hitler and it is ethically against the morals of the society. Different philosophers have tried to defend the actions of Hitler against the Jews on the aspect of utilitarianism. This is unethical and against the morals upheld by the members of the society. It should hence be important to note that not all actions that evoke happiness are right. The deaths of the millions of Jews in Germany made Hitler happy and this is one of the reasons why different people will manipulate the theory of utilitarianism to defend Hitler’s actions. A wrong action should be considered as wrong despite the impact that the action has to the person involved in the action. This is however manipulated in the theory of utilitarianism. The theory seems to justify an action whether right or wrong while putting more focus on the impact of the action to the person committing the act. The Holocaust is a famously known term which was used to refer to the mass murder of innocent civilians, who were mainly Jews and Gypsies. The ruthless act of killing millions and millions of innocent people was carried out by Nazis during the World War II. This was after Adolf Hitler had said that he wanted to rid Germany of any individual who did not originally come from that country. Many people thought that Hitler was a mad person and that his words were a bluff but not until the killings started. Factories had even been established where the bodies of those slain would be put. Hitler ordered the killing of the so called sub-humans who comprised of the sick, the old and the young. Judging from his actions, Hitler was aiming at making Germany a free nation from non-German nationals like the Jews and Gypsies. In his defense, Hitler wanted Germany to only be home to German nationals. He did not want to share any German resources with anybody who was considered not to be German. Basing his acts on Mill’s theory of utilitarianism, Hitler was determined to execute inhumane acts in a bid to remove all the unwanted people from Germany and create more room for German citizens to exploit their resources. According to utilitarianism, one’s actions do no matter, that is whether they are good or bad, provided they are for the greater good. This means that if one engages in robbery to satisfy their own needs or make a living, then their acts are justified. This theory is one sided as it does not focus on the other aspect that the one who the wrongful act is being done upon is left to suffer. What greater good is there if one side is not happy but rather in pain and suffering? The above reasoning can be applied in evaluating the Holocaust. There is no way that one can justify this massive killing of people the reason being that it was for the achievement of the greatest happiness. There is no greatest happiness if happiness that is gained is only directed towards a particular group; the greatest happiness is simply happiness for all. Thus Hitler being the sole perpetrator of the Holocaust, even though he might use this theory in his defense, his action is still not justifiable. Many innocent civilians died in pain and agony all under the impression that Germany was being made into a habitat fro only German nationals. It would have been better is the Jews and Gypsies as well as the sub-humans were given the chance or rather opportunity to leave the place and go look for somewhere else to live. Hitler was however not the kind of person to give such an offer. Mill’s claims that the theory of utilitarianism complies with the golden rule which has it, as earlier mentioned that one should unto others what they expect to be done unto them. Taking a close view and understanding of the golden rule, whatever one does to the other, they should be ready to expect the same from them. Relating this to the actions of Hitler, it is rather clear that for the kind of man he was, he would not allow the same actions to be done against him or his people. Hitler would not have wished for him and his people to be the ones paying the prize under the cruelty of one heartless leader. Hence this being the case, Mill’s perspective is thus not supported, that is basing on the understanding of the Holocaust and the damage that it caused. As much as utilitarianism is focused on doing well for the fulfillment of personal happiness, at times it is associated with actions that are known to be wrong but for a good self centered course. This could be justified from a variety of hate crimes conducted by people in different parts of the world. A perfect example is that of Hitler’s persecution of the Jews for the fulfillment of self happiness. The massacre of the Jews in Germany is considered to be one of the worst genocide cases in the world. As much as the actions of Hitler are viewed from a negative perspective, the theory of utilitarianism tends to support Hitler’s actions. Hitler executed the Jews for his own personal interests. History and political science have proven that Hitler was satisfied with the massacre of the Jews. As the theory states that actions are aimed towards fulfilling personal fulfillment, Hitler’s actions appear to be justified. The actions of man are aimed at bringing happiness to ones lifestyle. If the actions are aimed at bringing happiness, then as much as the world or the society may view the actions wrongly, the actins are justified. Ethics operates contrary to the theory of utilitarianism. This is why a larger portion of the members of the society will disqualify the concept of utilitarianism while the perpetrators of hate crimes will advocate for the theory. On the same point of view on advocating for hate crimes, the theory of utilitarianism advocates for holocaust. This could also be clearly explained from the way the Germans massacred the Jews. The concept of holocaust is basically focused on executing members of another society. The Germans hate crimes towards the Jews could be fully justified by the theory of utilitarianism. The German could have persecuted the Jews because the Jews seemed to re-procreate at a very high rate. For this reason, the Jews felt threatened and they were afraid that the population of the Jews would at one point come and exceed their population. From this concept, the Germans actions were based on the protection of their society and their nation. Their actions were based on the fulfillment of their personal social, economic and political interests. From the theory of utilitarianism, their actions were fully justified and this is the reason why they had to tamper with the large population of the Jews by persecuting and executing them. In most cases, the society will view the actions of members of the society from an ethical point of view. Ethics would out rightly dismiss the actions of the Germans towards the Jews. Many hate crimes are considered to be wrong and unjustifiable according to the principles of ethics. Utilitarianism observes the actions of the members of the society from a different angle and this is the reason most actions of people and especially hate crimes and holocaust are considered to be wrong according to the ethical principles and morals of the society. Utilitarianism is solely focused on the fulfillment of personal desires and this is the major reason as to why most actions which are considered as wrong will be right from the perspective of utilitarianism. People should therefore try and create more focus on the fulfillment of personal desires and to live happily despite the actions taken in different scenarios in life. In conclusion the ideas and concepts of Utilitarianism as has been addressed herein reflects the logic that is presented by Jesus in relation to the golden rule that states an individual should do as should have been doe unto them. the comparisons of the theory of Utilitarianism and the golden rule strikes one major idea that as far as what an individual is doing is for the purpose of fostering and improving life or rather would lead to happiness the act is considered right even though wrong. Therefore emphasis is thus placed on the rationale thus the acts of Adolf Hitler which led the deaths of the millions of Jews in Germany and the genocide in Rwanda that resulted to massive killings of the Tutsis community stands to be justified. All the acts that perpetrated murder show that the course of action taken by an individual would be focused on the impact that the action has on their personal life. In view of this the killings would benefit the perpetrators in one way or another and hence a contribution to the vision of the Utilitarian theory as well as a realization of the golden rule of Jesus in the actions of the murder perpetrators. Reference: Lee Bowie, Meredith W Michaels, Robert C Solomon, (2011). Twenty Questions-an introduction of philosophy, New York: Wadsworth Publishing Read More