Essay on Bernard Williams and Utilitarianism - 690 Words

The utilitarian faces many problems because he loses any ability to live a personal life. By this is meant that in making decisions the utilitarian must consider the steps which lead to the highest level of goodness in society. The utilitarian reaches for the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Two main aspects dominate the light of utilitarian beliefs. The consequentialist principle explains that in determining the rightness or wrongness of an act one must examine the results that will follow. The utility principle is that you can only deem something to be good if it in itself will bring upon a specific desired state, such as happiness or fulfillment. There are two types of utilitarians: Act utilitarians and Rule†¦show more content†¦If he does not take the job, it is decidedly worse for the general good as he would be giving up the job to someone with high aspirations to develop the field of chemical and biological warfare. This is a danger to society. In taki ng the job, George is providing his family with a healthier living and also, as a result of his lack of enthusiasm, he is slowing down the progress of chemical and biological warfare projects. In this way, utilitarianism is showing that integrity is meaningless. These similar ideas are expressed in Williams second example. A man ends up in a South American town in front of a group of 20 inhabitants who had protested against the government and were about to be killed as punishment and to serve as warning. Understanding that the man, Jim, had ended up in the town by accident, they decide to honor him as a visitor and give him the privilege of killing one of the Indians. As a result, the other 19 will be set free. The utilitarian response to this is that Jim should kill the one man. The utilitarian must again forget his integrity and act for the greater good. Although his best benefit may be to not kill one man, he must consider the complete picture; he is saving the lives of 19 people. Williams has a recurring gripe with the ideas of utilitarianism. He believes that in making a utilitarian decision one must forget his integrity, for in making his decision, it is not his personal reputation which takes priority.Show MoreRelatedUtilitarianism And Bernard Williams Critique Of Utilitarianism1915 Words   |  8 Pagesbe Moral?: Utilitarianism’s Moral Overburdening and Bernard Williams’ Critique Utilitarianism, at first, appears to be a rather uncontroversial ethical theory in that it bases its plausibility on its basic principle of maximizing human happiness. Even so, it proves to be rather problematic in many of its aspects as soon as one discerns how this ethical account ascribes moral value to actions. 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