Ethical Decisions According To The Utilitarian Decision Model

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They also made an ethical decision a according to the utilitarian decision model. This model is based on utilitarianism, which provides that good acts yield the greatest utility for the greatest number. There is little concern for the rights of others as the main objective is the concern of the majority. The morality of an act is determined from the consequences that will result from it. The utilitarian decision model follows that what is good yields the greatest utility for the greatest number. In the case of Dudley and Stephens, their decision was morally correct because killing the boy saved two lives. The consequences of their act resulted in greater utility for the greatest number. They did not have to consult the boy because there was no concern for his rights as the objective was the survival of the majority. …show more content…
This model provides that if one feels uncomfortable about an act, then the act is wrong. The religious perspective requires that one should do to others what he expects them to do unto him. The decision to kill the boy was ethically wrong because Dudley and Stephens did not expect the boy would do the same to them. Their actions were wrong because they would not want to be killed. This is so because they would not be comfortable if what they did to the boy was done to them. Their decision would only be right under this model if they desired the same to be done to