Ethical Theory Utilitarian - Coursework Example

Ethical Theory Utilitarian Name: University: Course Title: Instructor: Date of Submission: Ethical Theory Utilitarian Introduction The introductory section of this paper will provide the background of the ethical theory utilitarian. Utilitarianism ethical theory also referred to as Social Consequentialism is one of the most significant consequentialist ethical theories besides Egoism ethical theory (Individual Consequentialism) and Altruism ethical theory (Consequentalism Ignoring Individual Interests). These Consequentialist theories were first used in 1958, and associated with Jeremy Bentham, Ayn Rand, Thomas Hobbes, as well as John Stuart Mill (Sunita, 2005, p.110). According to consequential principles of moral reasoning, the goodness or badness of the results of an action determines whether the action is right or wrong. Various scholars have also borrowed their works from the consequential theories which posit that the moral rightness of an individual’s action is determined solely by the consequences or rather the results of such an action. This moral rightness is determined by weighing the ratios of goodness to the ratio of badness that is intended, will result or is likely to result from an individual’s action. Therefore, these theories provide the basis or rather the moral standards through which individuals’ actions are gauged against their results. As such, Utilitarianism ethical theory (Social Consequentialism), Egoism ethical theory (Individual Consequentialism) and Altruism ethical theory (Consequentalism Ignoring Individual Interests) extensively draw their principles from consequentialist ethics. According to Sunita (2005, p.110), unlike other consequentialist theories, the Utilitarianism ethical theory is largely concerned with the greatest happiness of all people who are likely to be affected by an individual’s actions. The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of the ethical theory utilitarian with regard to its description, relationship to other theories, father(s) of the theory, as well as real world examples of this theory. Description of the Ethical Theory Utilitarian Utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory which emphasizes that right or wrong solely depends on the outcomes or rather the consequences of an action, behavior or policy over others. In essence, this theory takes into account the interests or happiness of others by moving beyond the scope of an individual’s own interests of happiness (caae.phil.cmu.edu, 2002). The term “Utilitarianism” was first coined by Jeremy Bentham in his systematic ethical theory. Jeremy Bentham used the term to refer to “The greatest happiness of the greatest number”. Utilitarianism significantly draws from the principles of hedonism, which means that all men seek pleasure and avoid pain. Jeremy Bentham argued that such pleasure is sought through acquisition of wealth, power, position, good health, as well as virtue among others. These are sought after as the ultimate end of achieving pleasure and avoiding pain. According to Jeremy Bentham, nature places mankind under two masters; pleasure and pain. As such, human actions and behaviors are guided by the quest to obtain pleasure and avoid pain. However, in his argument Jeremy Bentham posits that moral principles require humankind to act and behave in a manner that promotes “the greatest happiness of greatest number”. Therefore, on the Utilitarian principle human actions and behavior are right if they enhance and promote greatest happiness, as well as human welfare and wrong when they do not (Sunita, 2005, p.112). According to Sunita (2005, p.111), this theory is regarded as both ethical and moral because it seeks to determine whether or not the actions of human beings are wrong or right. The theory is consequentialist because it determines the rightness or wrongness of an act solely through the consequences which arise from the act. Ethically, an act is right when it produces or rather if it tends to produce good for a large number of people affected by the act. If the contrary is true, then the act is ethically wrong. The importance of the ethical theory utilitarian among other consequentialist theories is that it provides the moral standards through which individuals are able to justify their actions (means) based on the results of those actions (end).The ethical theory utilitarian borrows heavily from the principles of utilitarian ethics. The application of these principles requires good understanding of the utilitarian ethics. These principles include; the Principle of Utility, Harm Principle and Principles of Consequences (faculty.stedwards.edu, 2002). The utilitarian principle of utility seeks to either approve or disapprove the actions of individuals depending on whether or not they promote/increase the amount of an individual’s happiness (one’s interests). With regard to this principle an individual can either be Act Utilitarianism or Rule Utilitarianism. In the former case, an act is right only if it leads to as much good as any other available alternative while in the latter, an ac is right only if it is required by a rule which generates greater good for the society that any other available alternative. The Harm Principle justifies the society in coercing the actions and behaviours of individual with the aim of preventing them from injuring, harming or causing pain to others. This principle however, does not justify such coercion simple because those actions or behaviours are deemed harmful or immoral to that individual. Lastly, the Principle of Consequences reiterates that the amount of happiness/goodness or unhappiness/badness caused or not caused is the only significant factor in assessing consequences of individual’s actions and behaviours. According to this principle, the right or bad actions or behaviours are those that result into greatest amount of happiness/goodness or unhappiness/badness respectively in the long-term (faculty.stedwards.edu, 2002). Description of the Relationship of Ethical Theory Utilitarian to Other Theories Utilitarianism ethical theory is one of the three consequentialist theories. As such, Utilitarianism ethical theory is related to Egoism ethical theory also referred to as Individual Consequentialism and Altruism ethical theory also referred to as Consequentalism Ignoring Individual Interests. All these consequentialists theories provide individuals with a moral basis on which to base their actions, behaviors, as well as policies. The consequences of these actions, behaviors and policies are used to determine whether they are good or bad. As such, for whom the consequence of the action, behavior or policy is significantly considered. For Egoism ethical theory or Individual Consequentialism, the preferred long-term or moral standard is self or an individual’s own interest. For Altruism ethical theory also referred to as Consequentalism Ignoring Individual Interests, the moral standard is that of selflessness. Decision makers are required to ignore their own interest and consider only those of others while making decisions. Lastly, in Utilitarianism ethical theory the interests of all members must be put into consideration (Sunita, 2005, p.112). Jeremy Bentham when coining the term “Utilitarianism” significantly borrowed from the principles of hedonism. As such, Utilitarianism ethical theory is in principle related to the theory of hedonism. These principles reiterate that the actions, behaviors and policies of individuals are geared towards achieving pleasure and avoiding pain. As such, humankind will always act, behave and formulate policies which enable leads them towards the acquisition of wealth, power, position, good health, as well as virtue among others. These enhance individual’s chances towards achieving or maximizing pleasure while avoiding pain (Sunita, 2005, p.112). As a normative theory, Utilitarianism ethical theory is also related to the Kantian theory of ethics. The Kantian ethics requires individuals to act so as not to treat others as mere means to an end but also as an end in themselves (faculty.stedwards.edu, 2002). Therefore, the Kantian approach to ethics like the Utilitarianism ethical theory puts emphasis on the actions, behaviors and policies of individuals towards achieving their desires in life. Similarly, on the platform of normative theories, Utilitarianism ethical theory is also related to theory of contract ethics which posit that morality is governed by either implicit or explicit rules. These rules determine how individuals are to rationally treat each other. Therefore both theories to a certain extent emphasize the need to consider the interest of others in their actions, behaviors, as well as policies. Fathers of the Ethical Theory Utilitarian According to Parisi and Rowley (2005, p.341), Utilitarian ideas can be traced back to Aristotle. Utilitarian as a fundamental principle of ethics had been clearly advocated for and enunciated by various philosophers among them Hutcheson, Helvetius, Beccaria, Godwin, as well as Priestly among others in the 18th century. However, Jeremy Bentham stands out as the real founder of utilitarianism. This is because of his insistence on the universality regarding the utility calculations in human decisions. As his greatest contribution to the Utilitarianism ethical theory, Jeremy Bentham posits that nature had placed humankind under the governance of pleasure and pain which are two sovereign masters. As such, these masters govern human actions, behaviors, thought, as well as speech. Therefore, pain becomes cost while pleasure is the benefit. As a result, human actions, thoughts and speech are based on cost-benefit analysis. Jeremy Bentham as one of the founding fathers of Utilitarianism ethical theory spent much of his life expounding, elaborating, instantiating and reiterating these utilitarian claims (Parisi & Rowley, 2005, p.341). John Stuart Mill is another father of the Utilitarianism ethical theory who has significantly contributed towards the utilitarian ideas. John Stuart Mill has contributed by modifying the more hedonistic approach in Jeremy Bentham arguments. According to White (2012, p.354), John Stuart Mill differed with Jeremy Bentham arguments who was his mentor and also a close friend to his father by insisting that some kinds of pleasures were more superior, more valuable and more desirable than others. He insisted that the estimation of pleasures should not be determined by their quantity alone but also by quality. He put more emphasis on the quality of the pleasure resulting from the actions, behaviors and policies of individuals that was central to utilitarianism (West, 2004, P.28). As such, according to John Stuart Mill utilitarianism refers to the principle of greatest happiness or rather higher happiness for the highest number of people or rather the extent of such happiness (caae.phil.cmu.edu, 2002). Real World Examples of Ethical Theory Utilitarian Utilitarian ethical theory is applicable in many real life situations since it provides the moral and ethical basis that governs the actions and behaviors of humankind (Panza & Potthast, 2010, p.121). In human testing, scientists use animals to carry out scientific researches involving medical discoveries. These researches when completed successfully, results into “the greatest happiness of the greatest number”. As such, the actions of scientist to use animals to test their discoveries are morally justified as they bring happiness/goodness as compared to other available alternatives. According to the consequential principles of moral reasoning, the goodness or badness of the results of an action determines whether the action is right or wrong. When animal testing succeeds most people benefit hence the action is good as it brings pleasure through good health. With regard to the action or rather the decision to drop a bomb on Hiroshima, the action was harmful, injurious and also caused a lot of pain to many. Many lives were lost and the result of the action was bad. Summary Utilitarian ethical theory is an important theory since it seeks to govern the actions, behaviour, as well as policies of humankind so that result into pleasure or rather goodness while taking into consideration the interest of others. The application of the Utilitarian ethical theory would mean that individuals act or rather make decisions that result in as much good compared too other available alternatives. The act of utilitarian encourages decisiveness as one can not serve two masters at the same time. The utilitarian rule is that an act can only be right if it conforms to the laid down rules, laws and regulations. The harm principle of the utilitarian theory of ethics stipulates that the society has a responsibility and is justified coercing individuals and organizations that act in a way that is harmful to the society. References Caae.phil.cmu.edu. (2002). Utilitarian Theories. Retrieved, July 31, 2012 from: http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/cavalier/80130/part2/sect9.html Faculty.stedwards.edu. (2002). Normative Ethical Principles and Theories: A Brief Overview. Retrieved, July 31, 2012 from: http://faculty.stedwards.edu/ursery/norm.htm Panza, C. & Potthast, A. (2010). Ethics for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing Inc. Parisi, F. & Rowley, C.K. (2005). The Origins of Law and Economics: Essays by Founding Fathers. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. Sunita. (2005). Politics, Ethics and Social Responsibility of Business. New Delhi: Paragon Books. West, H.R. (2004). An Introduction to Mill’s Utilitarian Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. White, M.J. (2012). Political Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Read More

The term “Utilitarianism” was first coined by Jeremy Bentham in his systematic ethical theory. Jeremy Bentham used the term to refer to “The greatest happiness of the greatest number”. Utilitarianism significantly draws from the principles of hedonism, which means that all men seek pleasure and avoid pain. Jeremy Bentham argued that such pleasure is sought through acquisition of wealth, power, position, good health, as well as virtue among others. These are sought after as the ultimate end of achieving pleasure and avoiding pain.

According to Jeremy Bentham, nature places mankind under two masters; pleasure and pain. As such, human actions and behaviors are guided by the quest to obtain pleasure and avoid pain. However, in his argument Jeremy Bentham posits that moral principles require humankind to act and behave in a manner that promotes “the greatest happiness of greatest number”. Therefore, on the Utilitarian principle human actions and behavior are right if they enhance and promote greatest happiness, as well as human welfare and wrong when they do not (Sunita, 2005, p.112). According to Sunita (2005, p.111), this theory is regarded as both ethical and moral because it seeks to determine whether or not the actions of human beings are wrong or right.

The theory is consequentialist because it determines the rightness or wrongness of an act solely through the consequences which arise from the act. Ethically, an act is right when it produces or rather if it tends to produce good for a large number of people affected by the act. If the contrary is true, then the act is ethically wrong. The importance of the ethical theory utilitarian among other consequentialist theories is that it provides the moral standards through which individuals are able to justify their actions (means) based on the results of those actions (end).

The ethical theory utilitarian borrows heavily from the principles of utilitarian ethics. The application of these principles requires good understanding of the utilitarian ethics. These principles include; the Principle of Utility, Harm Principle and Principles of Consequences (faculty.stedwards.edu, 2002). The utilitarian principle of utility seeks to either approve or disapprove the actions of individuals depending on whether or not they promote/increase the amount of an individual’s happiness (one’s interests).

With regard to this principle an individual can either be Act Utilitarianism or Rule Utilitarianism. In the former case, an act is right only if it leads to as much good as any other available alternative while in the latter, an ac is right only if it is required by a rule which generates greater good for the society that any other available alternative. The Harm Principle justifies the society in coercing the actions and behaviours of individual with the aim of preventing them from injuring, harming or causing pain to others.

This principle however, does not justify such coercion simple because those actions or behaviours are deemed harmful or immoral to that individual. Lastly, the Principle of Consequences reiterates that the amount of happiness/goodness or unhappiness/badness caused or not caused is the only significant factor in assessing consequences of individual’s actions and behaviours. According to this principle, the right or bad actions or behaviours are those that result into greatest amount of happiness/goodness or unhappiness/badness respectively in the long-term (faculty.stedwards.edu, 2002).

Description of the Relationship of Ethical Theory Utilitarian to Other Theories Utilitarianism ethical theory is one of the three consequentialist theories. As such, Utilitarianism ethical theory is related to Egoism ethical theory also referred to as Individual Consequentialism and Altruism ethical theory also referred to as Consequentalism Ignoring Individual Interests. All these consequentialists theories provide individuals with a moral basis on which to base their actions, behaviors, as well as policies.

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