Examples Of Traditional Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is a philosophical theory that states something is considered to be right when it does the most good for most the most amount of people (Duignan 2015). This theory doesn’t consider the feelings of the individual; it considers the feelings of the majority (Duignan 2015). Utilitarianism is very different from relativism, which takes into account the totality of circumstances, this philosophical theory states that what is considered to be right or wrong can vary depending on people and society (Rachels 2015).

153). In essence, utilitarianism is maximizing everyone’s happiness, which can almost be considered a universal acceptance (Boylan, 2009, p. 154). Jeremy Bentham is one of the proponents of modern utilitarianism and states, “nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure” (Boylan, 2009, p. 154). In business utilitarianism shares the nonmoral views that the best decision that had no moral conflict would be to maximize profit, which would be the greatest good of the company and its employees (Boylan, 2009, p. 162). Utilitarianism does not always hold true in some minds. Utilitarianism does not take into account motives of the people (Boylan, 2009, p. 165). “If one acts in accord with the general principle and its corollaries, then one is moral” (Boylan, 2009, p. 165).

The morality of euthanasia from an extreme utilitarian perspective means acting on what’s best for the vast majority based on one’s particular actions. The morality of euthanasia is determining what is considered to be wrong and right in the eyes of someone with a utilitarian perspective.

Jeremy Bentham was an English-born student of law and leader of a radical movement for social and legal reforms based on utilitarian principles. They said, The original utilitarian principle is democratic. They were democratic in the sense that they believed that social policy should work for the good of all people, not just the upper class. They believed that when interests of various people conflicted, the best choice was that which promoted the interests of the great number. Utilitarian reasoning can be used to justify a variety of actions and policy decisions. Utilitarianism suggests that we ought to consider the totality of consequences of a policy or action. Forms of utilitarianism will differ depending on how we understand what sorts of consequences or interests matter. Complexities arise in defining key concepts such as happiness, interest, and well-being. Utilitarianism also has to provide an account of whose interests or happiness matters. Jeremy Bentham, one of the founding fathers of utilitarianism, extended his utilitarian concern in a way that included all suffering beings, including nonhuman

Utilitarianism as an ethical theory is seen as 'an act that is morally correct if it results in the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people affected by the act'. (Crane, Matten, Chapt. 3). It is a principle that concentrates on the outcome of an act and compares the good outcome with the bad outcome and supports the outcome that brings the greatest amount of good for all stakeholders involved.

On the other hand, Jeremy Bentham, a utilitarian, argued that the right action was the one that “tendency it has to augment the happiness of the community is greater than any it has to diminish it” (Bentham 481). Bentham believed that the determination of a right action was the actions ability to generate pleasure to the greatest amount of people and for the longest

(6)You should not kill an innocent (friendless but healthy) person EVEN IF by doing so (and giving his organs to several others) you could increase net happiness.

Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory that judges an action on its outcomes and aims to maximize happiness. This means finding the action that generates the “greatest good for the greatest number”.

Utilitarianism is the most common ethical theory practiced in the business world today. Utilitarianism states that an action is right or wrong based on the end results.

Utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory that holds the morally right course of action in any given situation is the course of which yields the greatest balance of benefits over harms. More specifically, utilitarianism’s core idea is that the effects of an action determine whether actions are morally right or wrong. Created with the philosophies of Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873), Utilitarianism began in England in the 19th Century. Bentham and Mill built their system of Utilitarianism on ancient hedonism (pursuing physical pleasure and avoiding physical pain). Although both of these philosophers agreed on the basic principals of Utilitarianism they disagreed on what exactly hedonism is.

Utilitarianism is one of the most commonly used ethical theories from the time it was formulated by Jeremy Bentham and John Stewart Mill in the nineteenth century. In his work, Utilitarianism, Bentham “sought to dispel misconceptions that morality has nothing to do with usefulness or utility or that morality is opposed to pleasure” (MacKinnon, 2012, p. 53). To simplify the utilitarian principle, which is one of utility, one can surmise that morality is equated with the greatest amount of utility or good for the greatest number of people (MacKinnon, 2012). Also, with its orientation to the “end or goal of actions” (MacKinnon, 2012, p. 54), Utilitarianism thus, espouses the consequentialist principle, e.g., the evaluation of any human act lies not so much in the nature of the act or the drive behind the act but rather the result of the act (MacKinnon, 2012).

The case I chose to apply utilitarianism to is case number three. In case three, I am working for the number one car manufacturer in the country. Our latest model the Hipster is planned to be released but has potential brake issues. These brake malfunctions could cause serious injuries from accidents due to drivers being unable to stop the vehicle. The requirement is to submit a report and let consumers know that there is a recall after the government department approves the recall. However, this recall will end up costing the company a huge amount of money, which will end up taking away from profits. If the company pretended to not knowing about the defective brakes it would save the company money. This would also put our customers at risk. The Hipster models were supposed to be held in customs while an investigation was being made. But, the Hipster models were released without any changes and certifications. Now it is my job to see if I should look more into this event based on applying the principles of utilitarianism. I will apply the thought processes of act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism in the case scenario to give a better understanding of each principle.

This theory advocates that the actions worth is determined by maximizing utility (pleasure or happiness).it looks at the consequence of an action as to whether the outcome is good to the majority of people affected by it. According to Bentham, utilitarianism is the greatest happiness or greatest felicity principle. There are many types of this theory which include act vs. rule, two level, motive, negative and average vs. total. (Clifford G., John C. 2009) In act utilitarianism, when people have to make choices, they should consider the consequences of each choice and then choose that which will generate much pleasure.

Utilitarianism, defined as "the theory that an action is right if it seeks to promote the greatest amount of happiness in the world at large". This theory was started with the philosophies of Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). "Utilitarianism gets its name from Bentham’s test question, “What is the

Utilitarianism is a limiting ethical theory that fails to grasp ethically reality. “The greatest good for the greatest number” is not ethically right in every situation. Although the majority would benefit, the minority will heavily suffer. Considering the overall consequences of our actions, the good may not always outweigh the bad, but this does mean that the good will be the ethically right thing to do. One may think they are “maximizing the overall good,” but in reality, harming many.