Utilitarianism

Many people in the world have strong feelings of right and wrong. Where do moral rules come from, and how do we know if we are really doing the “right” thing? In many societies, most moral beliefs come from a religious background, or a family tradition passed down throughout the generations. There are many philosophical beliefs about this issue; one of these is the Utilitarian view, which is the belief that moral rules should be choices made by a society to promote the happiness of its members. On the other side of this moral spectrum come the ideas of Kant, which basically consist of following a set of standard rules; in other words, certain actions are always wrong, while others are always right. An example of Kant’s absolute rules is that lying and murder are always wrong.

Utilitarianism gives a clear, theoretical basis for moral decision making. Before deciding upon a course of action, the utilitarian is asked to consider its effects on the entire population over an infinite period of time. One problem with this method of decision-making is that many people might not agree with the premise that maximization of happiness should be the basis for morality. An example of this is that there are two patients (X and Y) in a hospital who both need different organ transplants to survive, and there are presently no available organs, which would cause the two patients to die. The utilitarian view would be two kill a healthy man or woman with these well-working organs to save the two patients. That way, only one person would die instead of two. Obviously, there is a problem with this decision because a healthy person with a right to live would be killed for two other people, and this would not be accepted in our society.

Another problem with the utilitarian point of view comes from the story called “The Ones Who Walk Away From the Omelas”. This story is about a fairy-tale city where everyone is happy; however a little boy is locked in a basement where no one talks to him or pays attention to him, but they know he is there. The only way the city of Omelas will remain perfect is if this little boy remains locked away in misery. If he were to be let out and freed, the people would not be able to enjoy constant perfection. The utilitarian approach is to keep the boy in locked away because he is the reason the city remains perfect; the greatest good for the greatest number of people. However, we all know that this abusive action towards the little boy is morally wrong, which is the Kantian belief: no one should life a life of pain and isolation, and everyone should be respected.

However, there are situations in which the utilitarian method of moral decision-making would be accepted by the majority of the people in our society. One example of this is the presently-occurring debate over the death penalty. The utilitarians need to consider both sides of the issue: should we put criminals to death who kill other people, or should we keep them in maximum security prisons for the rest of their lives? The general population would most-likely feel better that one less murderer is loose on the streets, and so would the victim’s family. Also, they would know that the criminal is receiving a harsh form of penalty that would be the repercussion of their brutal actions. To solely send criminals to jail for the rest