Reference no: EM132452773

A Utilitarian's Moral Solution

According to utilitarianism, an action should be judged not on the motive of the person committing it, but on whether its outcomes result in the greatest amount of benefit or happiness over harm. Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism, which is an umbrella term for a group of theories that propose that moral acts are those that produce good consequences. Decisions based on utilitarian reasoning are common in society. Have you ever made a personal decision by comparing the advantages and disadvantages of a particular choice or been in a group in which the decision was based on what the majority wanted?

Utilitarianism is an important theory because it has many practical applications. Policymakers often rely on utilitarian principles to make important decisions that affect a great number of people. The goal is to maximize overall happiness for as many people involved as possible. There are also, however, critics of utilitarianism who cite the difficulty in judging what is best for the greatest number of people and how difficult it can be to assign values to happiness for interested parties.

For this Discussion, you practice your understanding of utilitarianism by applying its principles to a situation that you select from several case examples.

Note: You take the perspective of a utilitarian to complete this assignment even if your personal perspective does not agree with the utilitarian perspective.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review Chapter 4 in the course text and the article "Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach to Ethics," focusing on the tenets of utilitarianism and its strengths and weaknesses.

Thread 1:

• "As a nurse, you are the last person to see Mr. Doe before he dies in hospital. You believe that he has become mentally incompetent in the last few hours and in that time he has rewritten his will. In the new will he viciously attacks each member of his adopted family and reveals that he actually was born a woman. He then cuts every family member out of the will leaving his fortune to a psychic chatline. Mr. Doe asks you to make sure that the new will gets to his lawyer. Knowing that the document will most likely be thrown out of court but not before the damage to Mr. Doe's family is done, do you carry out Mr. Doe's last request and why?"
  Post by Day 3, a 2-paragraph response in which you apply the principle of utility to develop a moral solution for this case. Include ethics-related terms in your post, and be sure to support your ideas by connecting them to the week's Learning Resources. Practice APA style for your in-text citations.