Utilitarism

Utilitarianism

Before entering the depths of Utilitarianism let me first lay the foundation on which ethical philosophy is based. When conducting any type of business in today's society it is generally expected that you follow a strict code of ethics. We have specific "Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice" that must be followed. Without these "descriptive ethics" many of the benefits we have in our free market economy would be jeopardized. Once the descriptive ethics are laid out we as individuals must stand back and analyze the specific conclusions that were derived. Instead of describing the beliefs & values, "normative ethics" prescribes what we should or ought to believe and value. The final level of ethics is that of the "philosophical ethics" which will be the main focus of my paper. Philosophical ethics is that which analyzes and provides justifications for certain basic concepts of ethics. In my paper the ethical theory of Utilitarianism will be delved into and dissected. It will discuss the characteristics and attributes of utilitarianism as well as the problems associated with it. This paper will also attempt to show how a utilitarian can justify the laissez-faire free-market system and what problems arise from it.

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory developed in the modern period by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-73) to promote fairness in British legislation during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when the interests of the upper classes tended to prevail and the sufferings of the lower classes were neglected. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that calls for putting benevolence into action. Mill interprets the term utilitarianism as signifying any moral theory in which acts are judged on the basis of their utility. Mill further specifies that there is no one conception of what constitutes utility and there is no implication of a sect. Also known as universal hedonism, utilitarianism is an ethical philosophy in which the most moral or ethical acts are those which serve to increase the happiness for the most people and/or decreases the suffering for the most people. The Principle of Utility says: "Follow those rules, the following of which will result in the greatest good for the greatest number."

Two important distinctions in utilitarianism are act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. The act-utilitarian asks, "How much pleasure or pain would result if I did this now?" The rule-utilitarian asks, "How much pleasure or pain would result if everyone were to do this?" The distinction, then, lies in the fact that the act-utilitarian tends to judge each act in isolation whereas the rule-utilitarian judges an act in light of the possibility that it were to become a rule determining everyone's future acts.

The argument in support of Utilitarianism is that Happiness is the ultimate goal. Everything we human beings do we do in order to be happier. Happiness is the only thing that is universally (objectively) valuable. If we want life, food, jewelry or companionship, we desire these things only insofar as we believe them to have the tendency to promote our