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Currently, the interaction of people with each other plays a significant role in all spheres of human activity. The importance of peoples relationships can be seen starting from simple human relations and their continuation to economic ties between countries. For a good connection between humans, people need to leave positive and trusting emotions for each other. Everyone must show themselves on the good or beneficial side for others. In this case, a persons behavior plays a significant role because their further cooperation with people depends on how he manifests himself. In this regard, studying psychology and philosophy, humanity reveals new concepts of ethics, which are further divided into narrower definitions. One of these concepts is utilitarianism, which defines the value of human existence. This paper will discuss utilitarianism and apply it to describe a good life and natural law. In addition, the essay describes how utilitarianism uses the concept of self-morality.
Understanding of Utilitarianism
The concept of utilitarianism justifies the behavior that benefits. By definition, utilitarianism is maximizing what is good for all is all there is to morality (Savulescu, et al., 2020, p. 621). In other words, it can be said that the goal of utilitarianism is to increase utility in the world. The more things happen in the world that benefits most people, the more the measure of wellness manifests itself. The logic of defining this concept is quite understandable because the correctness of things is determined by how many people support them. If the majority is for or against this or that action, it will benefit and play for the majority from the beneficial side.
It would seem that utilitarianism carries only benefits, but this concept also has another side. Utilitarianism does not consider the fair distribution of what is suitable for everyone (Savulescu, et al., 2020). For example, what is right-minded in peoples understanding may not be deserved by everyone. Perhaps some people from the masses deserve to be punished for some crime. Or maybe for someone, this best is an unworthy thanksgiving for heroic deeds. Therefore, what seems excellent and beneficial for everyone may not always correspond to justice. This mentioned nuance is ignored by utilitarianism and is considered a general concept. For this reason, it is necessary to keep a balance between justice and charity.
Utilitarianism Provides a Good Life
The moral theory of utilitarianism is directly related to societys quality of life. In turn, the quality of life is the sum of the good life of each individual in a particular community. For this reason, the result of a good life will be taking into account the personal interests of each person. In other words, it is the need of every person to satisfy vital interests. To build a society, in addition to a person, a family is required, which determines the beginning of moral rules such as loving family, caring, being honest, and respecting others. Together, all these ethical rules and the satisfaction of personal interests will result in a high-quality and good life (Cur_eu, et al., 2020). That is, the concept of utilitarianism is implemented in real life and will give a valuable and prosperous life for the whole society.
A persons environment also influences the formation of a good life. It is essential to have and defend peoples interests because this is the beginning of utilitarianism. However, it is worth considering that the society surrounding a person affects a persons interests since they can be not only suitable but also those that would bring harm rather than a benefit. Consequently, the choice of the environment plays a significant role because individual preferences, interpersonal interactions, and social influence shape group decisions (Cur_eu, et al., 2020, p. 811). By all means, the relationship of people is an integral part of the formation of society, which will be either good or bad in the future. Therefore, a person should proceed from the morality of utilitarianism and carefully choose an environment, which contributes to becoming honest and respectable. An excellent human environment influences the correct personality formation and individual preferences favorable to others, which will ensure a better life.
Natural Law is the Origin of Utilitarianism
Natural law supports the theory of the concept of utilitarianism. Beckwith (2019) claims that human nature is the basis on which these moral truths are known (pp. 154-168). A person takes all philosophical and moral ideas, as well as the concepts of ethics, from his natural existence. In other words, human nature is programmed from birth to determine what is good and evil. Man is born a being who can evaluate actions that benefit from activities that harm. Humanity involuntarily strives to avoid unfavorable living conditions, as well as to reproduce to continue its kind. For all this, people do not need special education and no one teaches them to distinguish bad from good. That is, human nature is able by itself to understand and intuitively strive for the good and favorable. Based on the concepts applied to the law of nature, the definition of ethics and its course follow. In turn, utilitarianism is also the conclusion of the rules of nature, which were determined by humankind according to intuitive concepts initially imposed by nature.
Utilitarianism as the Concept of Self-Morality
My concept of self-morality is that a person should treat others the same way he would like to be treated. I want other people to be honest with me, respect me, and be polite, and I must have the same attitude toward others. The concept of my self-morality contains the idea of utilitarianism mentioned above. Since utilitarianism is aimed at extracting benefits for most people, its theory is quite applicable to my concept of self-morality. In other words, for a person to feel good about others treatment, he must act in such a way that it is suitable for others, which in turn is welcomed according to utilitarianism. In addition, wanting to be treated well is a common requirement of human nature. The morality of utilitarianism asserts that a persons desire for good is a natural phenomenon, and human behavior should be beneficial. Consequently, the brought above self-morality is directly related to utilitarianism. That is, a good attitude towards others is a duty, and the requirement of a positive attitude towards oneself is a law of nature.
In conclusion, utilitarianism is a moral concept theory focused on extracting benefits for the majority from a particular act and behavior. This theory considers virtue as a whole and does not apply to everyone individually, where inconsistencies with justice may arise. In addition, utilitarianism serves as a source of a good and favorable life since a person always strives for the best. In addition, the theory of utilitarianism comes from natural rules, where every person can already distinguish good from bad and strive for good. Likewise, morality itself includes precisely natural laws, which are a description of utilitarianism.
References
Beckwith, F. J. (2019). Natural law, Catholicism, and the Protestant critique: Why we are really not that far apart. Christian Bioethics: Non-Ecumenical Studies in Medical Morality, 25(2), 154-168.
Cur_eu, P. L., Fodor, O. C., A. Pavelea, A., & Meslec, N. (2020). Me versus We in moral dilemmas: Group composition and social influence effects on group utilitarianism. Business Ethics: A European Review, 29(4), 810-823.
Savulescu, J., Persson, I., & Wilkinson, D. (2020). Utilitarianism and the pandemic. Bioethics, 34(6), 620-632.
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