Proponents of utilitarianism as an approach to metaethics hold that decisions and actions should be evaluated on the basis of the greater harm or good realized. Utilitarian believes that the overall consequence of an action or decision should be the greatest good for the greatest number of people, at the same time minimising the harm or suffering. This approach is based on the idea that the essence of life is the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain. 1 However, the extent of happiness caused cannot be concretely demonstrated, as it relies on the assumption that the involved parties are satisfied with the action or decision. This approach does not define the distinction between happiness and satisfaction. This raises the questions, is one form of happiness more important than the other? How effective is utilitarianism as an approach to metaethics?
Utilitarianism focuses on the consequences to the community at the expense of the individual’s happiness. Proponents may argue that the community is made up of individuals and if the overall happiness of the community is due to the happiness of the individual persons. This argument, however, does not explain the situation where the action or decision favours the community but is not favourable to the decision maker or the doer of the action. Furthermore, happiness is subjective. 2 There are some instances where finding common ground for happiness is not possible. While some people may find pleasure in honesty, there is part of the population that finds pleasure in deceit. A distorted view of happiness obscures judgement in what one believes to be important for others. It may be therefore difficult to determine the extent of an individual’s or a community’s happiness.
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This approach is dependent on the tyranny of the majority, without critically evaluating the practicability of the idea, action, or decision. It is more about what is popular than what is right. For example, if the majority of the Native American people support the immigration policies enacted by the federal government, the utilitarian approach will uphold the separation of families at the border based on the popularity among the American people. Such an action might be popular, but it might not necessarily be right. It should be noted that the majority may sometimes base their judgements on emotions and not objectivity. The majority is not always right.
A positive aspect of the utilitarianism approach is its practicability. Utilitarianism has only one rule that is applied in making judgments in a number of moral decisions, unlike other ethical approaches which follow a number of codes and norms. 1 This makes the approach flexible as decisions and actions are made depending on the situation at hand. It is easy to weigh the positive and negative consequences of our actions or decision. It is sensible to follow the constructs that the greatest happiness and the least harm are as a result of taking the right course of action. 2 This can be universally applied to every culture. With the intention of bringing out the greater good, individuals or decision makers may evaluate the expected consequences of their actions and take the right action.
Utilitarianism vouches for the intrinsic value of happiness. The advantages and practicability of the approach seemingly outweigh the disadvantages. This approach simply strives to create a world centered on happiness for humankind. However, this approach has for long remained inapplicable, with unsuccessful past attempts at creating fairly utilitarian societies. The nature of humankind is endeared to protecting themselves and their families first, making impossible to incorporate utilitarianism into our lives.
References
Arcidiacono, C., & Di Martino, S. (2016). A critical analysis of happiness and well-being. Where we stand now, where we need to go. Community Psychology in Global Perspective , 2 (1), 6-35.
Mill, J. S. (2016). Utilitarianism. In Seven Masterpieces of Philosophy (pp. 337-383). Routledge.
1 Mill, J. S. (2016). Utilitarianism. In Seven Masterpieces of Philosophy (pp. 337-383). Routledge.
2 Arcidiacono, C., & Di Martino, S. (2016). A critical analysis of happiness and well-being. Where we stand now, where we need to go. Community Psychology in Global Perspective , 2 (1), 6-35.
1 Mill, J. S. (2016)
2 Arcidiacono & Martino (2016)
