Utilitarianism essay

Question 1

What is the main premise of Utilitarianism?

Answer 1

Utilitarianism at its core promotes that the right action is the one that leads to the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

Question 2

What are the strengths of Utilitarianism?

Answer 2

.Focussing on consequences instead of actions in themselves allows us to consider the impact our decisions have on others.
.Utilitarianism is democratic allowing minority groups to speak out and get an opportunity to be heard by the public. This allows otherwise neglected people a chance to speak out against what they believe to be right and wrong.
. It enables present circumstances to be judged without reference to previous precedents.

Question 3

What are the disadvantages of Utilitarianism?

Answer 3

. The threat of an evil majority over a virtuous minority. What if the majority threaten evil whilst the virtuous minority can’t do anything but sit back and watch as havoc unravels? Will minorities be neglected forever?
. Humans are inherently selfish, trying to gain more for themselves while they leave others behind. If we try using this concept with Utilitarianism, the prospect would collapse completely.
. Many people do believe that motives matter, not just the consequences of those motives. “This is the last and greatest treason to do the right deed for the wrong reason.”- T.S Elliot.
. Following the principles of utilitarianism leads to the silencing of conscience such as when the Nazi’s silenced conscience by theories that the Jews were harmful to mankind.
. This way of thinking is following the rules of Utilitarianism and yet harming the population and completely throwing away the idea of humanization.

Question 4

Does Utilitarianism work for nations

Answer 4

The prospect of Utilitarianism is completely incompatible with modern nationalism and capitalism. Humans will always be inherently selfish and therefore the ideas of utilitarianism clash against nationalism. Powerful nations will only care about themselves for example, in the 1700’s-1800’s with British colonization and Russia invading Ukraine.