Utilitarianism is an ethical approach that requires human beings to engage in actions that promote happiness for a greater number of people. The approach requires human beings to avoid actions that are likely to cause harm to other people in their environment. An advantage that is linked to the ethical approach is that it seeks to promote happiness for a significant number of people in a community. A downside of utilitarianism is that it can end up causing harm to some people while benefiting others. An ethical approach that is superior to utilitarianism is the common-good approach, which requires community members to pursue common values and goals. The utilitarianism approach requires human beings to engage in actions that promote happiness for the greatest number of people in their community.
Utilitarianism has a positive relationship with welfare in that it encourages human beings to engage in actions that promote the welfare of all people in a society. Utilitarianism considers an action to be good if it enhances happiness or pleasure for a greater number of people within a particular environment. The ethical approach condemns any actions that are likely to cause harm or unhappiness to other people. In this case utilitarianism minimizes the likelihood of interfering with other people’s welfare.
One of the implications of utilitarianism is that human beings have to take a moral course of action in any situation they find themselves in. In this case, one has to assess the different courses of action that one can take in a particular situation and identify the one that maximizes benefits for all people. This is achieved by evaluating the benefits and harms that are likely to result from a particular course of action. Another implication of utilitarianism is that human beings have to avoid any actions that are likely to cause harm to others. In this case, one has to focus on engaging in actions that maximize good for all.
One of the benefits of utilitarianism is that it focuses on promoting happiness for society. The approach emphasizes the need for human beings to engage in actions that have a positive impact on them and those in their environment (Miller 1). In this case, one cannot engage in an action that is beneficial to them but causes harm to people around them. Following the utilitarian approach can help to minimize the injustices that human beings carry out against each other. Utilitarianism condemns people who harm others for personal benefit. Another advantage associated with utilitarianism is that the approach is easy to implement in day-to-day activities. The theory only requires human beings to focus on promoting happiness for all people through their actions. In this case, one can easily evaluate the benefits and downsides of their choices before implementing them. Engaging in actions that seek to promote happiness is necessary to minimize the likelihood of harm.
A downside that can be associated with utilitarianism is that it does not consider any other element apart from happiness. The approach relies on happiness to determine ethics and morality but does not focus on other things that affect human well-being. Utilitarianism has significant benefits but ignores some of the most important life experiences. Another downside linked to utilitarianism is that it leads to the development of an unrealistic perspective about society.
The approach emphasizes that an action should bring about happiness for a greater number of people in society. In this case, an action can cause happiness to a group of people but end up causing harm to others. The action can be considered to be good by individuals who enjoy the benefits, leaving others to suffer. Any action that a person engages in should not cause harm to other people in their environment. Another drawback associated with utilitarianism is that it relies on varying definitions of happiness. Something can bring about happiness for one person but end up causing harm to another one.
In my opinion, utilitarianism is not the most desirable approach for measuring and addressing societal well-being since it focuses on promoting happiness only. Society’s well-being requires an interplay of different values and not happiness only. The alternative approach that I consider to be superior is the common-good approach. The approach emphasizes that the good of individuals in a society depends on the good of their community. In this case, community members have a focus on pursuing similar values and goals (Velasquez et al., 1). The approach requires society to ensure that social systems and institutions are beneficial to all people. This minimizes the likelihood of people experiencing harm from a particular action while other people enjoy the benefits.
In conclusion, the utilitarian approach requires human beings to engage in actions that promote happiness for the greatest number of people in their community. The approach seeks to maximize happiness through the actions of various people. However, the ethical approach can end up causing harm to a portion of people in a community. An approach that is superior to utilitarianism is the common-good approach since it requires members of a community to pursue similar values and goals. In this case, a specific action is likely to be beneficial to all members of a community.
Works Cited
Miller, Brandon. “13 advantages and disadvantages of utilitarianism theory.” Green Garage, 2019. Web.
Velasquez, Manuel, et al. “Thinking ethically.” Issues in Ethics, (2015): 2-5. Web.