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Is Utilitarianism Relevant In Today's Society

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Utilitarianism is a moral philosophy that is credited to being created by Jeremey Bentham. Bentham believed that all humans make choices based on two feelings, pain and pleasure. Because of this, Bentham believed that motives are not good or bad in nature but instead on what feeling a human might feel more. Utilitarianism believes that the rightness or wrongness of an action is completely based on just the consequences of the action. Utilitarianism can be defined at its core as the belief that choices should be made for the greatest benefit for the greatest number of people. A real life example of utilitarianism can be seen in the story of the wreck of the Mignonette. In 1884, a crew of four men were stranded at sea over 700 miles away from the nearest land when the ship they were …show more content…

Utilitarianism would endorse this action as morally justifiable because the majority had survived because of this. Another example that is more relevant in today’s society is the requirement to vaccinate children against diseases even if it is considered against their individual religions. Some argue that this is a violation of an individual’s rights but utilitarianism would see this as a morally justifiable action because even though it is restricting an individual’s right to religion, it serves to help prevent diseases that could potentially be dangerous or fatal to many individuals thus providing the most benefit to the greatest number of people. Utilitarianism has been applied to global problems like poverty as well. Utilitarian philosophers argue that the wealthy in the world are compelled to end poverty by donating their excess wealth to charity. Furthermore, those donating should give their money to the charities that would do the most with the wealth given in order to do the most good that is possible. Again, utilitarianism would endorse this position because more people would benefit from receiving help than those who are

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