American Individuality vs Japanese Utilitarianism - Essay Example

American Individuality vs. Japanese Utilitarianism Introduction The societies or the individuals in the society communicate through culture hence when people communicate it is said that cultures and cultural values communicate. However, culture is an abstract concept which does not give a detail to what it is composed of. For example, American culture given a close look refers to assertiveness, optimism, boldness, a sense of enterprise and solid handshake among others (Brown, 1990). On the other hand, the Japanese culture mentioned drives into the mind their sense of stoicism, politeness, reserve, their polite habit of bowing down to greet one another and in short their relentless effort to pursue a group concept or harmony. All the characteristics of each of the societies as mentioned only shows a glimpse of what each society is made up of in form of cultural values and concepts. The two societies are distant apart in form of their cultures and beliefs, while the Americans are strong of individualism; the Japanese emphasize on utilitarianism. Salient distinguishing features of individuality and utilitarianism The arguments for and against the concepts of individualism and utilitarianism will never end. The argument that utilitarianism would derive the greatest pleasure and bring full life into a large or the greatest number and that this concept should be the ultimate goal of human beings is sharply disregarded by the proponents of individualism. They argue that utilitarianism is the exploit of the freedom of individuals to act on issues on their own account. The supporters of utilitarianism go on to support their ideology by arguing individualism is an ignorance of team work. It is not therefore, easy to tell which of the two moral systems is superior over the other as everyone has their own versions of their preferences (Sartorius, 1975). Individualism regards man as an independent, sovereign entity who has in control an inalienable right to their own life and the right is from the fact that they are rational beings. They argue that a civilized society can mainly be achieved only on the basis of recognizing the rights of individuals rendering a group to have no right rather than the right of the individual members. Utilitarianism on the other hand presents a divergent view that the moral worth of an individual is determined by the utility of the individual in providing happiness or pleasure to the group as a whole. The concept hence has consequences arguing that the moral worth of an action is explained by its action. The phrase that is often used to give a clear picture of what utilitarianism is, “the greatest good for the greatest number of people” or in other words, “the greatest happiness principle.” The supporters of utilitarianism normally try as much to minimize negative consequences and while maximizing the positive ones since it the intent does not matter a lot while the consequences do. The decision of actions made should be directed towards increasing pleasure and happiness while reducing pain and suffering (Sartorius, 1975). Individualism in American culture As opposed to egoism, individualism does not completely show disregard and disrespect of others. As with cultural perspective, individualism in a society like the American world is a well built concept and it is a measure upon which people would feel they have to care for themselves. It also defines the extent to which the individuals feel that their individual rights or needs prevail over those for their groups. In the American society, a person with a strong will of individualism highly values competition, personal achievement, self interest promotion, well-being, freedom, dignity, pride, self-satisfaction, independence, autonomy, initiative and creativity among others (Brown, 1990). These are the description that can comfortably be attributed to an American citizen or the culture in general. It is the ultimate individualistic culture that has been witnessed in the world. This is the perfect definition of every aspect of the American society in the manner they carry out their daily activities and this is derived from the supreme law of the land and that is the American constitution. Each and every American highly acknowledges and respects the individual rights and liberties. It is upon these foundations that the America has molded itself into a modern republic where the power rest with the citizens. This makes the Americans have a culture where the voice of the individuals is the strongest in the society and as a result an American is motivated pursue interests of personal benefit (Brown, 1990). The American culture is much strong in individualism in that; they glorify self made man while holding the social and the political heroes in high esteem. They practice a form of capitalism that the state does not control so much. The American culture would support a justice system where the individual remains innocent due to their belief on the freedom of individuals. The tenets of democracy as portrayed in the American culture shows just how much individualism is inbuilt in the culture (Sartorius, 1975). The American influence in terms of culture is so strong such that the impacts splits to any either culture they come into contact with either as individuals or as a nation a fact which explains the reason as to why the Americans have been able to exert its authority all over the world. All the opportunities to grasp American culture depict an evidence of a social fabric that is sown by a form of individualism and this unites even the most divided Americans. The brightest core value of the American culture is the right of each individual to freely express them while pursuing their dreams and passions (Brown, 1990). Utilitarianism in Japanese culture While individualism as the case of the American culture believes that moral and ethical values of an individual’s action warrants a judgment based on the consequences of such actions; the utilitarianism philosophy lays it down that morality of an action is suitably judged by the utility or how useful that action is. This makes the concept of utilitarianism be viewed as an extension of the concept of individuality. Utilitarianism in the Japanese cultural context holds the principles of consequentialism which argues that the moral value of any form of act is derived from the consequences of the act. This forms the foundation basis of utilitarianism as it rejects the proposition that mere pursuit of self interest can bring a common good to a whole group. The idea presents an argument that unity is power and for the achievement of common societal goals, all the individuals making a social setup ought to come together and craft a common way of doing things for the common good (Moore & Bruder, 2008). In Japan this concept can be reiterated with reference to the period of the famous bombing of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In cultural context, there was no justification that could be sought for the homicide of thousands in an inhuman way. The Japanese argue that this was an unnecessary action of bombing the innocent by dropping bombs to the two towns. This is the argument of the majority of the Japanese who don’t see the sole reason that the US could commit an act of destruction of that magnitude. There are also a minority who supported the act by the Americans arguing that had the Japanese been left to proceed with this act of developing the atomic weaponry, they would have wiped out many nations with an objective of seeking for a world dominion. They argue that the American intervention was much in place and had the objective of saving the whole world from the looming selfish act of the Japanese (Moore & Bruder, 2008). Utilitarianism as portrayed in the Japanese case seeks to delineate between moral and immoral actions through a scrutiny of how useful the action is. In the cultural context, the idea of utilitarianism is best in lace if the outcomes have the benefits of a majority of the individuals in the society (Moore & Bruder, 2008). The argument behind the philosophy forms a basis upon which an action would be informed on the basis of the evil nature it posses where the action with lesser evil is preferred for the overall good of the whole society. Utilitarianism is hence a concept that shapes the society values to take the direction of a benefit to a whole group. It also acts as a cushion to the evils that could strike the gains made by a whole society (Sartorius, 1975). The values hence act on the people equally making the societal approach the order of the day. Conclusion The concepts of individuality and utilitarianism are farfetched base on far apart bases and cultural settings. Individualism in the American context has both its brighter sides and the darker sides and the same applies to the utilitarianism in the Japanese setting. There is no sure way of saying that in the modern society any given state is capable of either being a pure individualistic nation or a pure utilitarian state. The whole world irrespective of the dominating ideology still needs the others most so in this global village. Therefore, a compromise of the conflicting aspect of the extreme ideologies must be ironed for the overall development of the human race. References Brown, G. (1990). Domestic individualism: imagining self in nineteenth-century America. Berkeley: University of California Press. Moore, B. N., & Bruder, K. (2008). Philosophy: the power of ideas (7th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill. Sartorius, R. E. (1975). Individual conduct and social norms: a utilitarian account of social union and the rule of law. Encino, Calif.: Dickenson Pub. Co. Read More