Assess The Difference Between Kantianism And Utilitarianism

Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, is one of the most influential philosophers in the history of Western Philosophy. Based on the principles of Kantianism, certain types of actions are allowed, even in cases where the action would bring more happiness than the alternative. On the other hand, philosopher Jeremy Bentham, the founder of Utilitarianism, argues on the moral rightness of a decision based on its outcome. Clearly, both moral theories have had an immense impact that have carried on in today’s society as well. According to Kant, it is always wrong to lie, no matter what, even lying to a murderer asking at the door where his victim is. In this case, if one does lie and despite one’s good intentions the lie leads to the murderer’s

According to utilitarianism, an action is right as long as it promotes happiness and pleasure, and wrong if it produces unhappiness and pain. Using the example of the Nazi coming to the door asking if there are Jews hiding in your home, a utilitarian would answer the opposite than an individual who supports Kantianism would. Therefore, a utilitarian would lie and say that there’s no Jew hiding in his/her home, because they would want to prevent pain and unhappiness from happening. Even though you are lying, you are saving someone’s life, and in utilitarianism this is the right thing to do. Clearly, there’s a lot of self-sacrifice involved in this theory. You have to act in a way that you are benefiting others without personally gaining anything from that action. Utilitarianism is also about calculating utils and disutils. When performing an action, you have to think of the people who are involved, and the possible outcome of the action in order to maximize utility. For each outcome, and person there will be utils and disutils created, then you calculate all of them and whichever outcome creates the most utils, that certain action has to be taken. In conclusion, utilitarianism is all about creating a positive outcome to any action taken, unlike Kantianism that doesn’t promote lying, even under certain