2,024
24
Essay, 3 pages (550 words)

Utilitarianism

Week 4 paper assignment Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that advocates for the good of members of the society. It offers a basis for determiningmorality based on consequences. As a result, an act or rule that leads to more social good than wrong is termed ethical while an act or rule whose net consequence elicit bad impacts is considered immoral. The doctrine of utilitarianism rest on the worldview of maximizing benefits for all members of the society. As a result, the theory views actions from its impacts on involved stakeholders (Custodio, DVD).
Utilitarian theory identifies a number of ethical principles. One of such principles is autonomy that the theory contradicts. Autonomy defines respect for a person’s liberty and the right to make personal choices. While it advocate for individualism, utilitarianism only observes such individual’s rights if they observes the maximum benefits of other members of the society. Utilitarianism also involves the ethical principle of beneficence that corresponds to its core provision. The principle of beneficence provides for a person’s responsibility to ensure good to other people, a provision that offers a step to maximum good under the utilitarian theory. The theory also relates to the principle of non-malfeasance that restraints individuals from causing harm to others. This contributes to the measure of utilitarianism that measures the net of good and bad from an action or a rule (Custodio, DVD).
A number of personalities have been associated with advocacy for the utilitarianism theory. Examples are Jeremy Bentham, and John Stuart. Bentham developed the core principle that ethics is determined by the measure of right or wrong from an action or a rule. Stuart however defended the theory by separating pleasure and pain in the theory’s concepts. He argued that moral acts should generate pleasure but minimize pain (Custodio, DVD).
Utilitarianism therefore views sexual mores in the context of macro social perspectives and the wider impacts of the sexual behavior on people. Consequently, it does not approve of social behavior just because it is a private affair but views its effects, such as social impacts, on other people. Controversial sexual behavior that adversely affects other people’s happiness and comfort are therefore disapproved by the theory (Custodio, DVD).
Even though there have been liberalization of both law and attitude towards homosexuality, it remains controversial because of the small percentage of the population that are homosexuals as compared to those who are not and those who still hold negative opinions and are not comfortable with the sexual orientation. Consequently, the large percentage that is negatively affected by the sexual orientation induces the social concern due to generated conflict. The fact that this population is affected by existence or publicity of the sexual orientation also raises ethical concerns such as ethical principles of autonomy and beneficence. Further, the current large population that does have not accepted homosexuality, and are therefore adversely affected by it, means that the sexual orientation is, at least under utilitarianism, unethical (Custodio, DVD).
There are however a number of views that contradicts the utilitarian opinion over homosexuality. Egoists for instance advocates for rights of homosexuals because forcing them to change would be more harmful to the group. The egoists’ opinion also identifies a benefit of homosexuality’s social acceptance that can lead to more responsible sexual behavior among the group and a lower risk factor to the public with respect to sexually transmitted diseases (Custodio, DVD).
Works cited
Bube, Paul Custodio. Revealing Applied Ethics 3. 0. Thinking Strings. 2012. DVD.

Thank's for Your Vote!
Utilitarianism. Page 1
Utilitarianism. Page 2
Utilitarianism. Page 3
Utilitarianism. Page 4

This work, titled "Utilitarianism" was written and willingly shared by a fellow student. This sample can be utilized as a research and reference resource to aid in the writing of your own work. Any use of the work that does not include an appropriate citation is banned.

If you are the owner of this work and don’t want it to be published on AssignBuster, request its removal.

Request Removal
Cite this Essay

References

AssignBuster. (2022) 'Utilitarianism'. 16 January.

Reference

AssignBuster. (2022, January 16). Utilitarianism. Retrieved from https://assignbuster.com/utilitarianism-essay-samples-2/

References

AssignBuster. 2022. "Utilitarianism." January 16, 2022. https://assignbuster.com/utilitarianism-essay-samples-2/.

1. AssignBuster. "Utilitarianism." January 16, 2022. https://assignbuster.com/utilitarianism-essay-samples-2/.


Bibliography


AssignBuster. "Utilitarianism." January 16, 2022. https://assignbuster.com/utilitarianism-essay-samples-2/.

Work Cited

"Utilitarianism." AssignBuster, 16 Jan. 2022, assignbuster.com/utilitarianism-essay-samples-2/.

Get in Touch

Please, let us know if you have any ideas on improving Utilitarianism, or our service. We will be happy to hear what you think: [email protected]