Two views of ethics robert mcgee barry university introduction most discussions of political philosophy revolve around the relationship between the individual and the state or the individual and the masses. Utilitarianism also called consequentialism is a moral theory developed and refined in the modern world in the writings of jeremy bentham 17481832 and john stuart mill 18061873. Medical ethics is a sensible branch of moral philosophy and deals with conflicts in obligationsduties and their potential outcome. Consequentialism is an umbrella term for a range of moral theories that state the rightness or wrongness of an action should be based solely on the results produced by that action. Ethical theory and information technology professional journal of information technology vol. If utilitarianism is true, then it is morally permissible to lie to your friend. Three dimensions of classical utilitarian economic. Conceptually, welfarist theory is built on four tenets. Application of the principle to healthcare requires a prior understanding of the welfarist theory as expounded by the economist.
This philosophy states that the morality of an action is best judged by the utility or usefulness of such an action. Maximization the view that the value of a state of affairs should be made as great as possible. Normative ethical theories generally incorporate two essential components. Utilitarianism an ethical theory according to which the rightness and wrongness of acts depends entirely on facts about the maximization of overall wellbeing. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that determines right from wrong by focusing on. The work from which our reading is taken, utilitarianism, deepens and strengthens the greatest happiness principle of jeremy bentham and his. Ethical theories should not allow bad things to happen. Type of ethical theories it is customary to divide ethical theories into two groups usually called 1. Utilitarianism the ethical theory advanced by bentham, both james mill and. There are several theories of value held by individuals who have been called utilitarians. To determine the moral status of an action, utilitarianism has us look at c, deontology b, and virtue theory a.
What matters for virtue theory, more specifically, is the character of the agent. Also, the creators of these social media sites need to find a way to get this under control. Utilitarian theories divide into two types over this issue. I shall, however, hereafter try to show that this psychological theory has an important though subordinate place in the establishment of ethical utilitarianism. Mar 02, 2021 utilitarianism, in normative ethics, a tradition stemming from the late 18th and 19thcentury english philosophers and economists jeremy bentham and john stuart mill according to which an action or type of action is right if it tends to promote happiness or pleasure and wrong if it tends to produce unhappiness or painnot just for the performer of the action but also for everyone else affected by it.
Pleasure or happiness is the only thing that truly has intrinsic value. The theory of utilitarianism explained with examples. The goal of utilitarian ethics is to obtain the highest benefits with the lowest cost mack, 2004. One cannot study special issues in ethics without some knowledge of the basic ways in which ethical theorists have. Utilitarianism, kantian ethics, natural rights theories, and religious ethics a utilitarian argument, in the strict sense, is one what alleges that we ought to do something because it will produce more total happiness than doing anything else would. We can find a lot of examples of utilitarianism in the annals of world history. Peter mack mbbs, frcsed, frcs glasg, phd, mba, mhlthecon. Utilitarianism, by john stuart mill the selfdevelopment of the individual in his in. Utilitarianism ethics unwrapped the university of texas at austin. The morally correct action is the one the produces the most good or the most happiness and the least amount of suffering for the most people pleasure over pain. Utilitarianism is based on the principle of utility.
Utilitarianism is the best approach to environmental. There are two major ethical theories that attempt to specify and justify moral rules and principles. Utilitarian ethics were to be the blueprints for social justice, and utilitarianism is habitually considered the starting point of contemporary moral philosophy kymlicka, 2002. Now, before we proceed towards looking at some examples, let us discuss this idea a little in detail. A utilitarian argument, in the strict sense, is one what alleges that we ought to do. These disadvantages are a that peoples moral intuitions are very variable and at timesclearly unreliable. Utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and wellbeing for all affected individuals. In chapter i, i lay the foundations of the classical utilitarian theory by stating and examining the principle of utility as it is found in the writings of bentham and mill. For one thing, the criterion dispute includes a dispute about whether.
Perhaps the most damning criticism is that utilitarianism doesnt appear to adequately support principles of justice, fairness, truth telling, etc. Mills more important contributions to ethics occur in utilitarianism 1863, from frasers magazine, 1861, bentham 1838, coleridge 1840, dr whewell on moral philosophy 1852, professor sedgwicks discourse on the studies of the university of cambridge 1835, and in the brief discussion in the system of logic, bk vi, chap. Thus, according to utilitarianism, utility is the value that should guide actions, programs and policies. Utilitarianism, kantian ethics, natural rights theories. It is the most wellknown and prevalent forms of consequentialism. Understanding utilitarianism utilitarianism is fundamentally welfarist in its philosophy. Similar to beneficence, least harm deals with situations in which no. Ethical theory and utilitarianism chapter 1 utilitarianism and. Choice theory michael allingham christian art beth williamson christian ethics d. Utilitarianism is a teleological theory and would look at the purpose or the end goal of an action. Nov 03, 2019 utilitarianism has profoundly impacted the modern society and its laws. Consequentialism is a general moral theory that tells us that, in any given situation, we should perform those actions that lead to better overall consequences. The key motivation for this revised utilitarian theory is its unique ability to treat properly multistage ethical decisions, represented as ethical decision trees, while at the same time recognizing that there is some concept of individual welfare which ought to determine ethical decisions.
Consequentialists are concerned not with the ethics of an action itself but rather with the ends of the action and whether it causes. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different characterizations, the basic idea behind all of them is to in some sense maximize utility, which is often defined in terms of wellbeing or related concepts. This series of monographs covers the whole range of ethical theory from greek philosophers to the latest develop ments in contemporary moral philosophy. Pdf three general theories of ethics and the integrative.
Utilitarianism john stuart mill mcmaster faculty of. Teleological theories, encyclopedia of bioethics, ed. Utilitarianism, kantian ethics, natural rights theories, and. It is evident that this cannot be proof in the ordinary and popular meaning of the term. In essence, therefore, the premises of utilitarianism can be referred to as a variation or extension of the philosophy of consequentialism. Deontology the deontological class of ethical theories states that people should adhere to their obligations and duties when engaged in decision making when ethics are. Identify the strengths and limitations of utilitarianism as an ethical philosophy. However, an understanding of the ethical justification for these decisions, which may differ from the ethics and ethical justification for health care in general and nondisaster triage, can help in allaying these moral and emotional conflicts. Type of ethical theories a third kind of ethical theory is one based on the concept of virtue aristotles ethics is the best example of theory of this kind. Department of surgery singapore general hospital abstract there are two moral ethical dichotomies. The research in this project will focus on utilitarianism, specifically act utilitaria nism. Utilitarianism usually relies on predicting the consequences of an action. Rule utilitarianism is the theory an action is right if it leads to the greatest good, or that the rightness or wrongness of the correctness. Utilitarianism is the best approach to environmental issues.
Utilitarianism john stuart mill batoche books faculty of social. Utilitarianism, deontological, and virtue theory ethics. Resist the temptation to choose your favorite approach and ignore the rest. The goal is to do the maximum good for the most casualties through the most efficient use of resources. Act utilitarianism au is the moral theory that holds that the morally right. For one thing, the criterion dispute includes a dispute about whether there is any such moral instinct. The original utilitarian ideas come from jeremy bentham 17481832, who constructed a hedonistic view of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is part of a larger family of consequentialist ethical theories theories according to which the rightness or wrongness of actions is. There are two types of utilitarianism, act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism.
For example, suppose your friend is struggling in 8. Pdf this essay develops the theoretical foundations and framework of a defensible ethical theory for medical ethics and the whole of life. Utilitarian ethics in healthcare international journal of the computer, the internet and management vol. The fundamental theory of hedonistic utilitarianism is that happiness is the. Utilitarianism consequencebased ethics learning theories. Utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory that identifies the good with utility and the right with that which maximizes utility. Utilitarianism is the general term for all ethical theories that hold that actions should 3 be judged on the basis of their total costs and bene fits for society. It is the only moral framework that can be used to justify military force or. In this ethical theory, the consequences should fully be considered, as it will affect the most people. The issue is hacking, that is, hacking with malicious intentions. Contemporary issue operations, especially those operations that deal with moving from ethical theory to applied ethics, ethics can be directly applied to a contemporary it issue.
Pdf utilitarian and deontological ethics in medicine. A utilitarian notion of responsibility for sustainability. Utilitarianism as an ethical theory journal of ethics in mental health. Act utilitarianism au is the moral theory that holds that the morally right action, the act. Utilitarianism holds that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number. Chapter 3 utility and utilitarianism utilitarianism utilitarianism is an ethical theory that holds that an action is right. Questions of ultimate ends are not amenable to direct proof.
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that determines right from wrong by focusing on outcomes. Utilitarianism utilitarian ethical theories are based on ones ability to predict the consequences of an action. Stephen long christianity linda woodhead circadian rhythms russell foster and leon kreitzman citizenship richard bellamy civil engineering david muir wood classical literature william allan classical mythology helen morales classics mary beard and john henderson. But while much of this makes good sense, it appears that there are some problems with benthamstyle utilitarianism as an ethical theory. Utilitarianism was radical in the sense that it is a theory that is aimed at defining one simple basis that can be applied when making any ethical decision. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that says that the right thing to do in any situation is whatever will do the most good that is, whatever will produce the best outcomes taking into consideration the interests of all concerned parties.
Act utilitarianism subscribes precisely to the definition of utilitar. Four broad categories of ethical theory include deontology, utilitarianism, rights, and virtues. The theory of the good also called value theory or axiology defines. The aim of ethical theories is, among other things, to present and defend systematic answers to the two following questions. Consequentialist decision theory and utilitarian ethics. Print out thechart of basic approaches to ethical theory from my website which i use instead of canvas. Pdf utilitarianism and business ethics in business ethics. But before we can begin such discussions, a few preliminary points need to be addressed. Utilitarian ethics were to be the blueprints for social justice, and utilitarianism is habitually considered the starting point of contemporary moral philosophy. Baier notes that the word deontology was coined by the utilitarian jeremybentha mto denote.
To a utilitarian, the choice that yields the greatest benefit to the most people is the one that is ethically correct. Ethics or morality and well use these terms interchangeably is the broader arena in which any special set of ethical problems is found. Utilitarianism sets that an action is morally right when the action produces more total utility for the group than any other alternative boylan, chapter 12, 2009. Your use of this heinonline pdf indicates your acceptance of heinonlines. This paper presents the different utilitarian approaches to ethics.
Consequentialism is an umbrella term for a range of moral theories that state the rightness or wrongness of an action should be. Utilitarianism utilitarianism is an ethical theory that says that the right thing to do in any situation is whatever will do the most good that is, whatever will produce the best outcomes taking into consideration the interests of all concerned parties. Journal history this article was published in the international journal of ethics 18901938, which is continued by ethics 1938present. Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that the production of happiness and reduction of unhappiness should be the standard by which actions are judged right or. One of the most influential ethical frameworks, utilitarianism is focused on consequences and results. Utilitarianism john stuart mill mcmaster faculty of social. A second argument in favour of the utilitarianism of bentham and the ethics of christianity being compatible is that there are links between the theory s quantitative approach and the actions of jesus utilitarianism can also advocate a scenario where an innocent man is sentenced to death to prevent riots and preserve the peace.
The philosophy of consequentialism is based on the belief that the moral and ethical value of ones action should be judged by the consequence of such action. Utilitarianism is a consequentialist ethical theory and therefore when evaluating ethics and the environment they would look at the end result and not necessarily the action. The third part of utilitarian theories has to do with how the judgment is made that a particular act is of relative maximum utility or relative minimum disutility. Applying all five approaches to the same problem practicing ethical pluralism is a good way to generate new 3 01johnson ethics 45065. The original utilitarian ideas come from jeremy bentham 1748 1832, who constructed a hedonistic view of utilitarianism ben tham, 19701823. Two approaches to ethical theory ethical theory in turn divides into two main types or approaches. Ethical theories two types of ethical theories i teleological theories value based theories an act is morally right if it promotes the good or what has value.
1654 1094 1518 1309 830 1178 301 1648 494 533 544 1475 611 681 993 1268 624 182 1073 1268 584 999