Utilitarianism is a theory in which
actions are judged to be right or wrong according to their causal consequences as long as a course of action produces maximum benefits for
everyone, utilitarianism does not care whether the benefits are produced by
lies, manipulation, or coercion.
As I reflected on the
report, I realized that many of us use this type of moral reasoning frequently
in our daily decisions. When asked to explain why we feel we have a moral duty
to perform some action, we often point to the good that will come from the
action or the harm it will prevent. Business analysts, legislators, and
scientists weigh daily the resulting benefits and harms of policies when
deciding, for example, whether to invest resources in a certain public project,
whether to approve a new drug, or whether to ban a certain pesticide.
Members of Rotary
International, a popular civic club would make members undergo orientations and
has a simple checklist for ethical behaviour that I believe is very utilitarian
in nature.
“For
Rotary, The Four-Way Test is the cornerstone of all action. It has been for
years, and it will be in the future. Of the things we think, say or do
1.
Is
it the TRUTH?
2.
Is
it FAIR to all concerned?
3.
Will
it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4.
Will
it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
The
test is one of the hallmarks of Rotary. Since it was developed in 1932 by
Herbert J. Taylor, who later became RI president, it has never ceased to be
relevant. Its four brief questions are not based on culture or religion.
Instead, they are a simple checklist for ethical behavior. They transcend
generations and national borders.”
Utilitarianism offers a
relatively straightforward method for deciding the morally right course of
action for any particular situation we may find ourselves in.
The Categorical Imperative of Immanuel Kant
In Kant's theory, our duty is inflexible. Put
simply, Kant's Categorical Imperative tells us it is immoral to make an
exception of yourself. If you would want other people to act in a certain way,
you must hold yourself to the same standards. No one is above the moral law,
and making excuses for yourself (such as that you're in distress) does not get
you out of your moral duty.
In summary, Kant believes that moral behavior
requires that we do the right thing because it is right, and for no other
reason, and that we hold ourselves up to the same standards we would require of
everyone else.
As I
reflected on the Categorical Imperative theory, I realized that what Immanuel
Kant is proposing is to follow the “Golden Rule” to “Do unto others as what you
would want others to do unto you”.
In the
situational theory of ethics, I could
not help but quote the bible in
Luke 10:25-28 “And one day an authority on the law
stood up to put Jesus to the test.
“Teacher”, he asked, “what
must I do to receive eternal life?”
What is
written in the Law? Jesus replied. “How do you understand it?”
He
answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Love him with all your strength and with all your mind and, Love your neighbour as you love yourself.”
You have
answered correctly, Jesus replied. “Do that, and you will live.”
Categorical
Imperative then, sets a very high standard of conduct.
Situational ethics,
or situation ethics,
is a Christian ethical theory that
was principally developed in the 1960s by the Episcopal priest Joseph Fletcher.
It basically states that sometimes other moral principles can be cast aside in
certain situations if love is best served. I remember Mother Teresa of
Calcutta, was once asked how one could feed the hundreds of starving people in
India, given the limited resources that she had has this to say “If
you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” Her love for the poor was always her guiding
principle and how she decides.
Paul Tillich once
put it: "Love is the ultimate law". The moral principles Fletcher is
specifically referring to are the moral codes of Christianity and
the type of love he is specifically referring to is 'Agape' love.
Agapē is a term which comes from Greek which means absolute, universal,
unchanging and unconditional love for all people. Fletcher believed that in
forming an ethical system based on love, he was best expressing the notion of
"love thy neighbour", which Jesus Christ taught
in the Gospels of
the New Testament of
the Bible.
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