As the great Mr. Spock said, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” This is essentially what utilitarianism is. You’re maximizing the “utility” of each of the parts of a whole. It is a form of consequentialism, which means that whether the action is justifiable or moral is dependent on the consequence of the action. This particular form of consequentialism just states that the best moral action to take would be one that maximizes utility, whether it is on an individual or group level. There are also two forms of utilitarians, act utilitarians, and rule utilitarians. Both, however, agree with the main purpose of a utilitarian in that they seek to maximize utility.
One way to explain utilitarianism is through the trolley (or train) …show more content…
There is also some contrast to this particular situation because ones ethical decisions can be taken into consideration.
Utilitarianism also has a view on the self. When someone is making a decision for themselves, they should make the decision that maximizes their own utility. For example, if someone is choosing between a Snickers bar and a Twix bar, and they know that the Snickers bar will bring them more pleasure, or more utility, then they should choose the Snickers bar.
The two forms of utilitarians are very similar. Act utilitarians basically say that you should take any action you need to in order to maximize utility. This seems to be the “hardcore” utilitarian, and it doesn’t take into account ethics or virtue. In the trolley problem, they would have no issue making the decision to kill the 1 rather than the 5, no matter what action they need to take in order to make the tradeoff. Act utilitarians are also closely tied to the idea of hedonism. Hedonism is essentially the thought that pleasure is the ultimate trump all. Life is just the pursuit of pleasure, and you should do anything you can in order to increase your
One way to explain utilitarianism is through the trolley (or train) …show more content…
There is also some contrast to this particular situation because ones ethical decisions can be taken into consideration.
Utilitarianism also has a view on the self. When someone is making a decision for themselves, they should make the decision that maximizes their own utility. For example, if someone is choosing between a Snickers bar and a Twix bar, and they know that the Snickers bar will bring them more pleasure, or more utility, then they should choose the Snickers bar.
The two forms of utilitarians are very similar. Act utilitarians basically say that you should take any action you need to in order to maximize utility. This seems to be the “hardcore” utilitarian, and it doesn’t take into account ethics or virtue. In the trolley problem, they would have no issue making the decision to kill the 1 rather than the 5, no matter what action they need to take in order to make the tradeoff. Act utilitarians are also closely tied to the idea of hedonism. Hedonism is essentially the thought that pleasure is the ultimate trump all. Life is just the pursuit of pleasure, and you should do anything you can in order to increase your