Ethics Act Utilitarianism

Question: Discuss about theEthicsfor Act Utilitarianism. Answer: Introduction Ethical theories have been developed by philosophers to provide solutions for difficult situations that people find themselves in their daily lives. These theories enable people to differentiate between what is right and wrong (Hayhurst, 2010). Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that is concerned with the amount of suffering or happiness that results from a persons action. An ethical action according to utilitarianism is one that has maximum benefits and minimum adverse outcomes. It attempts to maximize the amount of happiness and minimize the amount of suffering involved in a given situation. Utilitarianism is divided into rule and act-Utilitarianism. Rule utilitarianism is based on fairness. It seeks to benefit most people in the fairest way possible. On the other hand, Act utilitarianism is based on acting in the way that benefits most people irrespective of the resultant feelings or societal laws. (Baumane, Cals Sumilo, 2016).The focus of this essay will be on Act Utilitarianis m. According to the proponents of Act Utilitarianism, an act becomes morally right if it benefits the greatest number of people or when it produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people. According to Act Utilitarianism, therefore, an action is principally guided by it as to build the maximum amount of benefit to the greatest amount of people in contrast to the actual feelings of the people involved (Melden, 2013). As identified in the response there are basically two main stakeholders, in this case, Stephen and Ralph. However, others stakeholders on whom much emphasis has not been laid are the community which includes Stephenss family. Based on the responses by the imaginary student we can draw a number of ethical theories that have been used. In the first response, the student lays more emphasis on the outcomes of the actions identified in the case as either positive or negative and the resultant feelings that Stephen will have based on the action that he will take. This response can be partly interpreted by the use of virtue ethics which is based on more an individuals character. This particular theory states that an individuals character matters then everything else. The emphasis on this theory is that individuals should act in a way that shows compassion for others and which is guided by wisdom and devoid of vices such as selfishness (Mizzoni,2010). It does not focus on an individuals action which is the area of focus for Act Utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism employs the use of Utilitarianism rules to evaluate Individuals actions directly. Based on Act utilitarianism we can focus on the maximum amount of benefit involved without regard to the feelings that are involved. In this Case the evaluation of the action on the potential maximum benefits for the greatest number of those involved i.e. Ralph on one side and the other stakeholders on the other side. While the action of retaining Ralph would not be termed as having produced the greatest benefit to the greatest amount of people, deciding not to retain him would be, because it would improve sustainability which would result in maximum benefit. The first two responses fail to conform to utilitarianism principles in that they are mostly focused on the outcome of the actions instead of the actions themselves (Jeurissen Rijst,2007). All Ethical theories are concerned with acting in a way that is morally right. Just like utilitarianism which views a morally right action as one that produces the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of good for the majority. Kantianism ethical theory, on the other hand, views an action as morally right if through the action a person can be said to have fulfilled their duties. It does not focus on the outcome of persons action. Kantian ethics is focused on two basic principles. The first is whether another person would act in a similar manner in a different situation and whether the action is meant to benefit other. Care ethics is more concerned with relationships before other factors. Acting in a way that is morally right requires an individuals action to be focused on building, strengthening and maintaining strong relationships with the people involved (Shafer, 2007). An ethically right action would, therefore, be one that shows care for others and which is focused on m aintaining the existing relationship. Relationships are therefore the basis for care ethics. Virtue ethics is more concerned with an individuals character .living morally, therefore, requires an individual to demonstrate certain virtues such as courage, wisdom and compassion through their character while at the same time avoiding certain vices such as selfishness. Finally, contract theory is primarily concerned with existing agreements between people. To act in a way that is morally right requires an individual to respect the existing agreements. Based on the analysis of different ethical theories there is one common factor that emerges from all of them and that is the fact that they all outline basic principles necessary for an action to be considered as ethically correct. The imaginary students actions that are morally worth can be said to be universally applicable to all theories and not only to the Act Utilitarianism which was can the basis for his discussion. This can be referr ed to this as a mere generalization which does not apply to any particular theory. In essence, as per Act Utilitarianism apart from an action being able to demonstrate moral worth, it must also be seen to be resulting to the greater good (Spinoza,2011).The imaginary students analysis does not meet this threshold needed in Act Utilitarianism because based on it any action by Stephen would have been appropriate. The final Analysis by the imaginary student is focused on Justice as the basis for defining an action that is ethically correct. This means that an action should be guided by the basic principle of achieving justice for the parties involved. This, therefore, requires that an action taken be the one that grants each party involved justice. As per the analysis of student, it would be justified to deny Ralph employment because that enabled him to accomplish his desire of working at the time that he wished to instead of the time that he was required to. While it can be said that there is some truth in that statement, the argument goes against the principles of Act Utilitarianism which requires an act to be considered morally correct if it results to the greater good of the whole. On the contrary, justice is emphasized by Kantian ethics which is based on the principle behind people actions and which states that an action is considered to be morally correct if it treats everyone with fairn ess (Copp, 2007).This, therefore, the basis for this argument for the imaginary student Conclusion Based on the above response it is evident that each ethical theory is founded on certain principles which are used to define an action as either appropriate or inappropriate. Based on the imaginary students response on Act Utilitarianism it can be argued that the response does not quite address the basic principles of Act Utilitarianism and even goes ahead to employ principles from other theories such as Kantian ethics to analyze the case. In conclusion, therefore, this response is not very appropriate for the case. Reference List Baumane-Vitolina, I., Cals, I. and Sumilo, E., (2016). Is Ethics Rational? Teleological, Deontological and Virtue Ethics Theories Reconciled in the Context of Traditional Economic Decision Making. Procedia Economics and Finance Copp, D. (2007). The Oxford handbook of ethical theory. New York: Oxford University Press. Hayhurst, C.( 2010). Animal testing: the animal rights debate. New York: Rosen Pub. Group. Jeurissen, R., Rijst, M. W. (2007). Ethics in business. Assen, The Netherlands: Van Gorcum. Melden, A. (2013). Ethical Theories. Read Books Ltd. Mizzoni, J. (2010). Ethics: The basics. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K: Wiley-Blackwell. Shafer-Landau, R. (2007). Ethical theory: An anthology. Malden, Mass. [u.a.: Blackwell. Sustainable development: Relationships to culture, knowledge and ethics. (2011). Karlsruhe: KIT Scientific Publishing. Spinoza, B. . (2011). Ethics. Ware: Wordsworth Editions.