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Consequences Of Utilitarianism Approach

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Utilitarianism ethics falls in the under the consequentialism approach which determines an action is wrong or right by its consequences. Utilitarianism is an ethics principle which advocates that actions are either good or bad by the results they produce. If the action brings pleasure to the greatest number of people then it is good, if the result causes pain and grief, it is bad. Therefore, the end justifies the means – if the act will in due course bring happiness and pleasure, “the greater good”, then that act is ethical. If the act ultimately brings pain and grief to the majority of the people, then that act is unethical. Some actions cannot be evaluated until the ultimate consequences become known in the future. According to Bentham, to consider act good it has to result in …show more content…

When this becomes known, another round of riots would ensure killing innocent people and their property thus making the testimony self-defeating. 2) It would be unjust to frame an innocent person for a crime he did not commit, such an act would cause so much grieve to him and his family that any good that would have come out of it would be negligible. Justice is giving each person each his/her due or what he/she deserves. It really would be unfair to falsely accuse another person to salvage a situation which might not be contained for a long time. 3) Consequences of bearing false witness are unknowable. The utilitarian may think that bearing false witness will stop the killings but it may turn out the other way because he does not know how the people in this situation will react to his testimony. It could lead to his death or persecution. 4) The utilitarianism approach though popular and seeking to please the majority, it is not enough to provide solid moral answers in all situations.

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