Reference no: EM132263800

It is commonly believed that utilitarianism cares only about the greatest good or the greatest amount of happiness for the largest number of people. This is an overly simplified view of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism aims to assess whether actions maximize the good outcomes while minimizing bad outcomes. When performing this analysis, it is important to consider the needs an interests of all stakeholders involved, and not just the wealthiest, most powerful, and visible. Utilitarianism must account for all the different types of people affected by an action and include all such stakeholders in a calculation to determine whether the action will maximize good outcomes. As Dr. Thomas Harter, bioethics professor at GW has stated: " if you maximize the good for just the greatest number of people at the expense or detriment of minority populations, you have not actually maximized good outcomes for the majority of all people impacted by the action. [This is good to point out to people who try to claim that Utilitarianism is a bad ethical theory because it can be used to justify the actions of the Nazis against the Jewish population. Simply tell them that they don't really understand Utilitarianism; under Utilitarianism the Nazis acted unethically because they were only concerned about their own good while creating lots of suffering around them, thereby failing to maximize the good/minimize the bad for all people impacted by their actions." Which of the following is an example of a state action justifiable under teleological reasoning?

a) Mandating the HPV vaccine in a local city even though many families refuse to educate themselves on its benefits because ultimately the mandate will save lives.

b) Allowing each individual driver to determine whether seat belts will be worn in his/her car because driver's should be able to act with autonomy even if fatalities in the city will rise.

c) Enacting voluntary HIV reporting among medical professionals to protect patient privacy even if the HIV rate is likely to go up without proper surveillance.

d) Providing health care and tax breaks to only those 1% of the population who can afford it because they are the wealthiest and will likely help the city to afford to develop more condos.