Utilitarianism | Ethics Defined — Transcript

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1. 0:04Utilitarianism
2. 0:07Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that determines right from wrong by focusing on outcomes.
3. 0:15It is a form of consequentialism.
4. 0:18Utilitarianism holds that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce
5. 0:22the greatest good for the greatest number.
6. 0:25It is the only moral framework that can be used to justify military force or war.
7. 0:31It is also the most common approach to moral reasoning used in business
8. 0:35because of the way in which it accounts for costs and benefits.
9. 0:40However, because we cannot predict the future,
10. 0:43it’s difficult to know with certainty whether the consequences of our actions will be good
11. 0:47or bad.
12. 0:49This is one of the limitations of utilitarianism.
13. 0:53Utilitarianism also has trouble accounting for values such as justice and individual rights.
14. 1:00For example, assume a hospital has four people whose lives depend upon receiving organ transplants:
15. 1:06a heart, lungs, a kidney, and a liver.
16. 1:10If a healthy person wanders into the hospital,
17. 1:13his organs could be harvested to save four lives at the expense of one life.
18. 1:19This would arguably produce the greatest good for the greatest number.
19. 1:23But few would consider it an acceptable course of action, let alone the most ethical one.
20. 1:29So, although utilitarianism is arguably the most reason-based approach to determining right and wrong,
21. 1:36it has obvious limitations.